


Sotto Voce

by TheApatheticKat



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: AU, Agender Crona, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Other, Prep School AU, Show Choir AU, TW: detailed descriptions of panic attacks and mental breakdowns, TW: physical and psychological abuse, Trans Black Star, a few minor name changes to fit the au, also a few mentions of eating disorders but nobody actually has one, also there's a sex ed class but it's not too graphic and mainly focuses on birth control, another content warning: bullying, cameos of b.ichi and fbof characters, takes place during 2015-2016 school year because that's when I originally began to write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 11:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 152,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheApatheticKat/pseuds/TheApatheticKat
Summary: They signed up for the dying team on a whim. Medusa made them realize stage fright was the least of their worries. Crossposted to Fanfiction.net.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All songs referenced are copyright their respective owners. No infringement intended. All school names (except for Shibusen) were made up on the spot by me and any resemblance to actual schools is purely coincidental. I originally posted this fic last January, but I recently decided to take it down and reupload it with minor edits

 

    Maka Albarn searched through the main hallways of Shibusen Academy, her friends Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Solomon "Soul" Evans right behind her. They searched through all the tables, through all the students with all their flyers, and through the board with over a dozen signup sheets for extracurricular activities, trying to find at least one thing that interested them.

    "So it was crowded like this the last two years, too?" Maka asked Tsubaki. As a junior, Tsubaki undoubtedly had more experience than the freshman Maka and Soul in navigating one of the most prestigious private schools in the state of Nevada. And as their friend since the beginning of middle school, Tsubaki was more than willing to give her underclassmen the necessary advice.

    "For the entire first week of the school year, all the clubs spend the afterschool period recruiting, and from Saturday to the end of next week, the competitive clubs have their tryouts," Tsubaki explained.

    "I'm not sure I want to join any clubs," Soul said. "I guess being on the football team with Black Star would be pretty cool, and so would being in a club with you two... hmm, maybe we could all try out for football?"

    "I'm not really interested in football," Tsubaki replied. "I was thinking of pursuing something in the arts," she added, scanning the area.

    "Actually, I don't think Maka could do football either," Soul said. "Look at her, she's only five feet tall, and kind of skinny. The huge guys on that team could get you creamed."

    "Hey, I'm definitely strong enough!" Maka retorted. "I was able to arm-wrestle the entire co-ed wrestling team and win. You saw me."

    "In seventh grade," Soul noted.

    "I could pass the tryouts if I wanted to," Maka said. "I don't want to play football because of all those studies. I don't want to end up with multiple concussions before I graduate high school, or even worse, CTE."

    "Sure," Soul said. _He obviously doesn't believe me_ , Maka thought. All this talk about football subconsciously led Soul to direct the trio over to a table, manned by a familiar blue-haired sophomore in a black and white football uniform.

    "Oh, hey!" Black Star said, twirling a pen between his fingers. "You guys signing up for the Reapers?" he asked with eager eyes. His pen clattered down onto the floor. Black☆Star moved his feet from atop the table back down to the floor, and he bent down to pick up his pen. "You'll need this to sign," he said. "Tryouts are this Saturday at ten."

    "Seems I'm the only one of us actually signing up," Soul replied, writing his name onto the signup sheet. "Maka's too scared," he added.

    "I'm just not really into team sports," Maka huffed. "I mean, I'm athletic enough to do it, but all those extra rules... basketball was hard enough, and we weren't even on an official team, just playing in each other's backyards," she added. Soul mumbled something as he handed the pen back to Black Star.

   "What was that?" Maka snapped, as Tsubaki got shoved aside by a very tall, muscular student. Well, Maka guessed he was a student by him wearing the school uniform, but his age was hard to tell due to a large X-shaped scar across his face. That didn't concern her that much, as she quickly checked to see if Tsubaki was okay. Tsubaki gave a nod and a slight smile.

    "I just talked to Coach Barrett, and turns out I ain't even on the team anymore," Tsubaki's shover grumbled to Black☆Star. Black☆Star looked very surprised at seeing this man for some reason.

    "Ragnarok?" Black☆Star asked. "I thought you graduated last year," he said.

    "I got held back, asshole," Ragnarok replied, yanking the pen from Black☆Star's hand. "Coach says I have to try out again if I want back on the team since apparently, seniors get automatically removed after the season's over. What a dick, am I right?" he asked. _He just assumed you were going to graduate_ , Maka thought. "Here, just let me sign up for both myself and my cousin, and then I'll be on my way."

    Ragnarok wrote two names onto the signup sheet, before pushing Soul aside as he stomped off, despite Soul not at all being in his way.

    "Not my fault I didn't watch the graduation ceremony last year...no way," Black☆Star said, looking at the two names Ragnarok had signed. "He's related to them?"

    "Who?" Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki all asked, with varying degrees of curiosity. Black☆Star held up the signup sheet, pointing to the name below Ragnarok's. Crona Gorgon.

    "Now that I think about it, they did mention having a cousin," Maka said. "Who would've thought it was him?" she pondered, as the agender freshman in question approached the table. Maka hadn't known Crona for as long as Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki, only meeting them at the beginning of last summer break. But the two were already just as close, and Soul, Black☆Star and Tsubaki were more than happy to accept Crona as their group's fifth member.

    "The Poetry Club was full," Crona sighed. Unlike the others in the group, they had a slight Greek accent, which their cousin lacked.

    "That's too bad," Maka replied. "Maybe there's something else in this area you'd like to sign up for," she added, holding out her hand. "Shall we search together?" she asked with a smile.

    "Ah, sure," Crona replied, taking Maka's hand.

    "Yeah, I should probably look for a fallback, too, just incase football doesn't work out for the two of us," Soul said, gesturing to Crona.

    "What? Did one of you sign me up for that?" Crona asked, sounding flustered. "I don't think I could handle being on that team."

    "Your cousin Ragnarok did," Black☆Star said. "Should I cross your name out?"

    "No, it's fine, I guess," Crona replied. "He probably wouldn't like it if I didn't show up to tryouts with him."

    "There's some people starting to form a line," Tsubaki noted, pointing to a small crowd.

    "We better get going, then," Maka said. "See you soon, Black☆Star!"

    "Hey, could you guys sign me up for the show choir?" Black☆Star asked. "They got to a national championship last year, and if I'm gonna end up the biggest star this school's ever seen, I gotta do both sports and the arts!"

    "Okay, bro," Soul replied, as Tsubaki led the group of four off down the hall. They looked at several different clubs as they made their way across the tile floor. Maka accepted a flyer for the Mathletes team from a mostly bald boy with thick glasses, but she became disheartened once she saw that you had to be at least a sophomore to get in. _Maybe next year_ , she thought, as Soul looked over at band for about five seconds before grumbling about them not having the right instrument open. Tsubaki accepted pretty much every flyer she was offered, even the really bizarre ones.

    "Join the cheerleading squad!" a cute, pink-haired girl whose hair was dyed about the same shade as Crona's exclaimed. "Sign up right here and at the board!" she added. "We're not just open to girls!"

    "We'll think about it!" Tsubaki exclaimed back. "Or would any of you three want to sign up right now?"

    "Ugh, no," Soul replied. "I'm far too cool for cheerleading."

    "Hmm, maybe I could," Maka said. "I might write my name on the board as a fallback in case I don't find anything else."

    "I couldn't, not even as a fallback," Crona said. "Look how short the skirts are on the cheer uniforms, I can't deal with wearing something like that, it's too embarrassing," they added, glancing a bit too long at the cheerleader girl's skirt hem. "Besides, I'm no good at cheering anybody up."

    "That's not true," Maka said, as they walked together past a few more tables and flyer handouts. "Your smile's enough to cheer me up," she added.

    "Really?" Crona asked, blushing slightly.

    "Hey, wasn't that the show choir Black☆Star wanted us to sign him up for?" Soul called out, pointing to a table where a blond boy, possibly a sophomore, with multiple ear piercings sat.

    "Oh, yeah," Maka said, as the four of them walked over to the table.

    "Please sign up to save my club," the blond boy said. "Almost all our members graduated last year, and we need twelve in order to compete."

    "I'm interested in signing up, could you tell me a few details about this club?" Tsubaki asked, signing both her name and Black☆Star's onto the signup sheet.

    "Well, if I wasn't in a class with him, I'd think Black☆Star was a fake name," the boy replied, looking at the clipboard before setting it back down on the table. "Anyway, we're having a fresh new start this year, and a new name. We are no longer Tone Death, since a friend of our faculty advisor suggested we rename the team to Spartoi, which we did. And we really need new members to go along with the new name. I, President Hiro, am the only one left," he began to explain, as Maka signed her name on. _I haven't been able to see Tsubaki that much since we're two grades apart, and if I could be in a club with her and Black_ _☆_ _Star, that would make it double the fun,_ she thought, as Soul wrote his name down.

    "We are a nationally ranked competitive club, and we mostly operate in this school's choir room," Hiro continued. "Unfortunately, we're the farthest from the nurse's office, so if anything goes wrong, it's quite a walk."

    "Farthest from the nurse's office?" Crona asked, picking up a pen and signing their name.

    "Yeah," Hiro replied. "Was that what caused you to sign?" he asked. "Whatever floats your boat, I guess."

    "Uh, no, I..." Crona began, "I signed because my friends did," they said, the tone in their voice becoming a bit shaky.

    "Well, I wish you guys good luck at the auditions this Saturday at ten!" Hiro exclaimed as Maka and her friends walked off. A black-haired boy, not much taller than Maka, approached the show choir table and meticulously began signing his name on the sheet.

    "Wait, did that Hiro kid say the auditions were Saturday?" Soul asked. "At ten?"

    "Yeah," Maka replied. "I hope you and Black☆Star can make it to the auditions," she said, as the vice principal and her father, Spirit Albarn, approached the group.

    "Maka, your mother's expecting I drop you off at her place pretty soon," Spirit said. "We have to get going."

    "Oh," Maka replied, turning back to her friends. "See you two tomorrow in class, and Tsubaki, make sure we get the same lunch table!" she exclaimed. As Maka and Spirit began to depart towards the entrance hall, Maka heard Soul begin to discuss with the other two what being in a nationally ranked competitive club might entail in terms of stage fright and how many people would be there when they compete. Maka heard a shrill "eep!" come from Crona after that as she left the hall. _Hang in there, Crona,_ she thought.

    "So did you sign up for anything?" Spirit asked.

    "Tsubaki signed up for show choir, so I thought it could be fun to do it with her," Maka replied.

    "Not to mention I'm the faculty advisor, right?" Spirit asked. _Oh right, I forgot to ask if he was doing that again this year_ , Maka thought, internally facepalming.

    "One favor to ask, Papa," Maka said.

    "Sure, what is it?" Spirit asked.

    "Don't have me pass the audition just because I'm your daughter," Maka replied. "If I pass, I want it to be legitimate. Got that?"

   

    The rest of the week came and went like a blur. Maka and Tsubaki chatted on the phone about their audition songs, Maka talked to Soul about athletics pointers, and she had to reassure Crona about the competitive nature of the club they picked, and the stage fright that came even before auditions. _Perhaps this can be an opportunity for them to grow,_ Maka thought. _Maybe they'll overcome some of their fears this year._

    On Saturday, something unusual happened. Rain. In Death City. Smack in the middle of the Nevada desert. Standing out in the bustling school parking lot, Maka took it all in. The little drips touched her arms, drop by drop, as Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki got out of the car with Spirit.

    "Thanks again for the carpool," Tsubaki said to Spirit as a motorcycle sped in across the wet pavement. Maka thought she recognized Ragnarok as the driver, since he wasn't wearing a helmet, which his passenger wore instead. Maka, Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki began walking up the stairs to the school's entrance, Spirit trailing not too far behind. There were two flyers on the door, an informational one detailing where the different tryouts were being held, and a neon green flyer with the words _"Football tryouts postponed due to rain. Come to the field this Tuesday after class if you signed up"_ on it in all caps.

    "Well, that eliminates my need to make a decision," Soul said. "Guess I'll be able to try out for both after all," he added, as Ragnarok ran up the stairs with Crona, the latter holding a motorcycle helmet. Ragnarok shoved the others aside.

    "Out of my way!" he shouted, before reading the neon green flyer. "Shit," he said. "Well, looks like it's postponed, we're going home," Ragnarok stated, hoisting Crona up over his shoulder.

    "Wait a second, I have something else I'm trying out for!" Crona protested, as Ragnarok carried them down the stairs. "Ragnarok, turn around!"

    Black Star and Maka tried to run after him, but Black Star slipped and fell in a puddle, while Maka hat to stop quick to avoid running into him. By the time she helped him up, Ragnarok was already back at his motorcycle.

    "Well, that was certainly something," Soul said, as Ragnarok sped off. "Damn, he's fast, got them on the bike safely and everything."

    "Come on, we've got an audition to go to," Spirit said, opening the door. "Follow me, everyone."

 

    The auditorium's seats were empty, save for Hiro, who called Spirit over to sit with him. He was holding a clipboard, the same one that was used for the signup sheet. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Black☆Star walked up onto the stage, where about twenty other kids stood. Maka recognized one boy as her classmate, Kidd Morte. He was standing with a bubbly-looking blonde girl in a cheer uniform.

    "Those two cheerleaders in the crowd are Patty Thompson and Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre," Black☆Star said, pointing to the blonde by Kidd, and a dark-haired girl further down the line. "Patty's the blonde, and Jackie's the brunette. They're both in some of my classes."

    "And that boy with the spiked-out ponytail is Harvar Eclair," Tsubaki said. "He's been one of my classmates for two years now, and he's a Mathlete."

    "Harvar D. Eclair," Harvar corrected. "Nobody remembers the middle initial," he lamented, before catching sight of Black☆Star. Harvar grimaced and walked to the other side of the line by Jacqueline. _I guess he doesn't like Black_ _☆_ _Star very much,_ Maka thought. _Did something happen between them last year?_

    "Is Liz going to audition?" Kidd asked. Tsubaki perked up at the mention of Liz's name. Maka knew the two were girlfriends, but she hadn't yet met Liz. _Maybe I'll finally meet her,_ she thought.

    "She didn't want to do any extracurriculars this year," Patty replied. "But she's going to come here in a bit to cheer me on. She's just in the bathroom," Patty added, as the door opened, and a tall blonde wearing a red sleeveless crop top and jeans walked in, taking a seat in a different section than Spirit and Hiro.

    "That's Liz," Tsubaki whispered, elbowing Maka. Liz took out a soda can, opened it, and began drinking. Tsubaki waved to her. Liz waved back. "After my audition, I'm going to talk to her for a bit," Tsubaki said.

    "Okay, my watch just struck ten," Spirit said, looking at his wrist. He looked back up at the stage. "Everyone on the stage right now, you are our potential for reviving this school's show choir ensemble. I want to see you all do your best in your auditions, and as with any audition only the best will make it in. Hiro will be calling everyone up by alphabetical order of last name, so everyone take a seat in the back of the stage until your name is called. Due to the fact we only have the auditorium until lunch, please only sing the first verse, bridge, and chorus of your chosen song. Good luck, everyone!"

    "Maka Albarn," Hiro called out. _I'm up first, of course,_ Maka thought. _I guess that's one of the perks of having a last name that starts with A._

    "Hello, everyone," Maka said, walking up to the microphone. "I will be singing 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift..."

    "Lame!" Soul hissed. Maka ignored him, and began singing the first verse. Her voice was clear, and powerful, though a bit nasal on some syllables. But she didn't let that stop her, instead belting out the first verse and chorus of the song with the passionate energy of someone who was actually performing in front of a competition-level crowd. She heard Black☆Star cheering for her the moment she stopped, as Spirit wrote down something in his notes. _Gosh, I hope I didn't do too bad,_ she thought, walking back to sit with the others.

    "Black☆Star," Hiro called out. _I guess he didn't put out a last name_ , Maka thought, as Black☆Star took the stage.

    "I will be singing 'I am the Greatest Star' from the musical _'_ Funny Girl'," Black☆Star yelled into the mic. "I am not really a huge fan of musicals, but this song just spoke to me on a spiritual level," he said, before singing. His voice came in as a solid soprano, with as much boundless energy as his actions. Black☆Star didn't keep the mic on its stand, instead picking it up from there and taking it along with him as he bounded across the stage. This extra measure to stand out worked wonders for him, as he was noted onto Spirit's cards before he was even finished singing.

    "HYAA-HAA!" Black☆Star shouted, as he dropped the mic, which then made that loud screechy microphone noise.

    "Don't mess with the sound equipment!" Kidd barked. "My father paid good money for only the best equipment for this school, show some respect!" _Oh, no wonder his last name seemed familiar during class roll. He's the principal's son,_ Maka thought, as Hiro called out the name of the next kid.

    "I'm going to be singing 'Mom's Spaghetti' by Eminem," that kid said, as he put the microphone back on it's stand.

    "That isn't even a real Eminem song," some other kid muttered. The 'Mom's Spaghetti' kid's audition went horribly off-key, and it was really hard to tell whether he was singing or just trying to rap like he was singing. _Unless literally everyone else here is a trainwreck, he is not getting in,_ Maka thought, as another name was called. This time it was some girl who sang "Let It Go" in a really mediocre way.

    "Let that song go," Soul whispered to Maka. She smirked a bit.

    "Harvar D. Eclair," Hiro called out. Harvar stood up at the microphone, as Soul ran backstage.

    "I will be singing Eddy Grant's 'Electric Avenue'," Harvar said, before taking his chance with the 80's song. He was surprisingly good at singing. Surprisingly very good. Maka wasn't sure if it was because of the two crappy auditions before him, but she had a strong feeling he was going to get in.

    "Solomon Evans," Hiro called out, as Soul came back with an upright piano.

    "This is who I am," he said, before he began to play. Black☆Star held in tears of laughter.

    "What's that idiot doing?" he whispered to Maka. "Playing piano for a show choir audition? Bro," he added, as Soul began to sing. It was not a song any of the others recognized, which means either Soul wrote it himself and this was his first time revealing it to the world, or he was such a hipster that he found a song so obscure even obscurity did not know of it. But his voice sounded very rough and low, not fitting the usual thoughts of what high school show choir was meant to sound like. When he was done, he took a bow, before wheeling back the piano to its spot wherever he found it. Spirit and Hiro muttered amongst themselves.

    "Okay, Crona Gorgon," Hiro called out. There was no response, as they were absent. "Crona Gorgon," Hiro called out again. "I knew this name wasn't real, who in their right mind would name their kid Crona?" Hiro called out the next few kids, and as time went by, Maka watched the door incase Crona was able to convince Ragnarok to take them back to the school. The auditions were still mostly mediocre in the meantime.

    "Kidd Morte," Hiro called out. Kidd walked up to the mic stand.

    "I will be singing 'Don't Rain on My Parade' from 'Funny Girl', which my father once made me see," he said. Kidd belted out a strong tenor, staying in tune and on key, perfectly hitting each note with the utmost precision. And it sounded glorious. Maka knew for a fact he'd most likely get in even if he weren't the principal's son. Kidd walked away from the microphone and sat back down.

    "Tsubaki Nakatsukasa," Hiro called out. Tsubaki nervously stepped up the mic.

    "I will be singing 'Firework' by Katy Perry," Tsubaki said. She took a deep breath and began singing. Maka already knew how Tsubaki's voice sounded from playing a few rounds of Rock Band with her over the years, and she was glad to hear Tsubaki was sounding as silvery and pleasant as ever. _She's sure to get in with that soft, gentle voice of hers,_ Maka thought, feeling a nice, calming feeling from Tsubaki's singing. She ended her rendition with a soft fade out, as the others clapped behind her. Tsubaki turned back around, blushing at the praise.

    "Woohoo, go Tsubaki!" Liz shouted. Tsubaki covered her mouth with her hand, hiding what Maka suspected to be a huge, dorky grin, before she turned back around, lowering her hand. She took a few steps aside from the microphone and blew Liz a kiss.

    "Jackie O'Lantern Dupre," Hiro called out. Jacqueline walked up to the mic.

    "I will be singing 'Girl on Fire'," Jackie said. She cleared her throat and began the first verse. _Okay, I guess I'm making a note of her going by Jackie for when she gets in, not if,_ Maka thought, upon barely hearing Jackie's voice. Jackie loudly belted out the chorus as Patty filmed her audition. _Wait, was Patty filming the entire time? Does Jackie have a friend who didn't audition?_ Maka thought, as Jackie completed her chorus, and returned to the group of teens sitting out on the stage. Hiro called out a few more names as the auditions went on, and those kids sang performances ranging from terrible to maybe a bit better than mediocre.

    "Patricia Thompson," Hiro called out. Patty stood out and ran to the mic.

    "I'm going to be singing 'Barbie Girl'!" Patty exclaimed. She opened with a heavy metal scream. Soul mouthed a flat "what?" to Maka, who shrugged, as Patty began singing both parts of the duet by herself, the main with her normal cutesy voice, and one like it was heavy metal. It was both the strangest and most amazing thing Maka had witnessed so far in her high school life. And it was only the end of the first week.

    "Okay, Patricia, that's enough," Spirit said. He almost sounded impressed. The rest of the auditions paled in comparison, as Maka waited out the rest of the morning sitting there, just listening, until the last kid finished his audition just as the bell for lunch rang.

    "Thank you, everyone, the results will be posted at the board on Monday, with our first meeting right after class that afternoon!" Spirit exclaimed.

 

    The rest of the weekend could not have gone any slower in anticipation. Maka's Saturday afternoon was spent on the phone, telling Crona every last detail of the audition. Saturday evening was spent wondering if talking about it so enthusiastically actually made them feel bad for basically being kidnapped out of it. The entirety of Saturday night and most of Sunday was spent at Black☆Star's for a sleepover with him, Soul, Tsubaki, and some of Black☆Star's classmates, including Patty.

    When Monday came, practically the entire roster of students vying for spots in the competitive clubs ran to the entrance hall's board.

    "Dammit, I can't see for all those taller kids!" Black☆Star exclaimed in frustration. "Tsubaki, hoist Maka up!"

    "Will that be okay, Maka?" Tsubaki asked. Maka gave the thumbs-up, and Tsubaki lifted Maka up on her shoulders. A kid behind them groaned "oh, come on," as Maka tried to scan the board. Her expression turned from curiosity to elation.

    "We're in, all four of us!" she shouted, leaning down at the boys. Black☆Star cheered, as Tsubaki set Maka back down to her feet. The four of them rushed out of the crowd into the halls, where Maka saw Crona standing alone at a distance. "We made it in!" Maka shouted, running over to hug Crona.

    "Wait, I wasn't even there," Crona replied, trying to move their arms a bit to no avail. "How did I... oh, you didn't mean I was part of this." Maka stepped back a bit, letting go of them. "I'm glad you guys made it in."

    "If it weren't for Ragnarok, you could've had a shot, too," Soul pointed out. "If you really are okay with the concept of performing in front of possibly hundreds of people, though, maybe Maka could use her power as our faculty advisor's daughter to give you a makeup audition. What do you say, Maka?"

    "Yeah, we should do it!" Maka cheered.

    "I guess that could work if I don't pass my other tryouts," Crona said. "I'll think about it."

    

    Later, on that afternoon, Maka and Soul entered the choir room for the first time. There, they found Black☆Star, Tsubaki, Kidd, Patty, Harvar, Jackie, Hiro, and Spirit.

    "That's all nine of them," Spirit said.

    "But we needed twelve to compete, and there were more than enough auditioning," Hiro whined. "Although, we would've had to poke into the crap pile to meet our minimum quota, so it wouldn't be necessarily a good idea to have picked from there anyway."

    "Watch it, Hiro," Spirit said. "Just because you're president by default doesn't mean you get to be a jerk."

    Hiro slunk back down into his seat.

    "Now," Spirit began, "for our schedule for the year. Since Nevada is so sparsely populated, if all goes right we will be slated to appear in three competitions. We have a preliminary competition towards the end of November, a state final in the last week of January, and a national one midway through April. But unless we place first, we can't move up between levels. So even if we place second in the preliminary, we cannot move up beyond there and our competitive season is over."

    "What happens if we're not competing?" Black☆Star asked.

    "Then we'll just do weekly lessons and sing for ourselves," Spirit replied.

    "I thought that was what show choir did regardless," Patty said.

    "No, since routines take time to choreograph, we're focusing on our competition prep," Spirit replied. "If you thought this was going to be all fun and games, you thought wrong. We'll still have plenty of fun, don't get me wrong, but in order to win, we have to work hard, and practice hard. And in order to be a good team, we need to know our teammates well. So everyone, why don't you tell us a bit about yourselves?"

    "I am the great Black☆Star!" Black☆Star shouted with a big grin. He dragged out one of the plastic chairs to the center of the floor and stood up on top of it. "I will become the greatest star of this school! I'm already vice captain of the football team, but that's gonna change at the end of this year when the current captain graduates. I joined this club so my stardom can reach both the arts as well as athletics. And by the time I graduate this school, and for eons afterwards, everyone's gonna remember my name! Remember me as the man who brought stardom to himself and this school with everything he ever did!"

    Black☆Star went on for about six more minutes until he had to go get a drink of water. When he came back, Kidd was sitting on the chair.

    "Hello, I am Kidd Morte, and my father runs this school as principal," Kidd said. "I do not want special treatment because of this, I'd rather you treat me just like any other kid," he added, before going quiet. He took a deep breath, before continuing to speak, his voice taking on a much more serious tone. "About two summers ago, I was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, centering around balance and symmetry, and occasionally, it's hard for me to keep myself in check. In middle school, I was mocked for it to the point where I felt that was all they were reducing me to. Can you promise not to make fun of me like they did?"

    "Sure, man," Black☆Star said. The rest of the members all gave their agreement as well. Black☆Star leaned in towards Maka. "There's probably a subtler way to mess with him," he whispered so only she could hear.

    "Thank you," Kidd said, relieved. He got off the chair, and Maka stood up to it. Like Black☆Star, she chose to stand on the chair.

    "My name's Maka, and I joined this club to have fun with my friends, and possibly make a few new ones along the way," Maka said. "I'm a straight-A student, and I've been among the top ten in P.E. since sixth grade. I'm not much of a dancer though, so I'll have to learn as I go, but I'm sure I won't drag you guys down!" she exclaimed, getting down from the chair. _I gotta improve so I can live up to what I just said_ , Maka thought, as Soul sat down upon the chair. _I don’t think I’m on the level yet where I can ask for a lead in the preliminary, so I’ll focus on training so I can ask in a later competition._

    "Hey, I'm Soul, and I can play the piano, I guess," Soul said. "I'm a better dancer than singer, so I'm not gonna be trying out for any solos anytime soon," he added, returning to the crowd. Jackie took the chair.

    "My name is Jackie, and I also do cheer, so I'm sure I have the proper skills to help us put the 'show' in show choir," Jackie said. She paused, expecting a laugh. Nobody did. "I've often been told I'm too straight-laced for comedy," she sighed, resigning herself to the crowd. Patty stood on top of the chair.

    "Hey, I'm Patty, and people say I laugh at everything, which isn't true," Patty said. "I only laugh at the things I find funny, there's a difference," she clarified, before getting down from the chair to let Harvar on.

    "Harvar D. Eclair," Harvar said. "Junior. Mathlete. I'm joining this club to find something to do on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays since I broke up with my last boyfriend over the summer. I tried to get my friend Ox to join, but he wouldn't go for it." Harvar stood up from his seated position, and Tsubaki walked up to the chair and sat down.

    "Hello, my name is Tsubaki Nakatsukasa," she said. "I live in a house with my parents and my younger foster brother Black☆Star. I joined this club because I thought it would be fun to compete, and so I could get over my apprehension towards being in the spotlight. I hope everyone does their best!"

    Hiro then loudly cleared his throat.

    "I'm the club president, Hiro," he said. "I, uh, I joined last year as a freshman to make friends, but everyone else in the club was a senior, so after we lost Nationals, I was the only one left. I hope you guys can not only be my friends for the year, but that we can get to Nationals and win it."

    "Don't worry, blondie, with the great Black☆Star on our team, we're guaranteed a win!" Black☆Star proclaimed. Harvar rolled his eyes and started checking his phone. "Hey, Harv, you got any stories about your ex?" Black☆Star asked.

    "You are not close enough to me for nicknames," Harvar replied.

    "Looks like we got a rivalry already," Maka groaned.

    "Okay, now that we've gotten to know each other a bit, let's talk preliminaries," Spirit said. "This year we have 'Classic Musicals' as the theme, so our entire set list is songs from musicals. We're doing, in order, 'Grease Lightning' from Grease, 'A Boy Like That' from West Side Story, and 'Summer Nights', also from Grease," he added, handing out copies of the set lists. Maka looked at the required roles _. GREASE LIGHTNING: Male solo/possible duet if audition ties. A BOY LIKE THAT: Female duet. SUMMER NIGHTS: Male/Female duet. Ensemble required for supporting parts. NO AUDITION REQUIRED FOR SUPPORTING ROLES, JUST ASK. AUDITION REQUIRED FOR ALL LEADS._ Maka deeply wished her father hadn't used Comic Sans for the set list. _I think I'll just ask for a supporting part in 'Summer Nights' for now_ , she thought.

    "Anyway, as it stands," Spirit continued, "we're not going to be able to compete at our current number of members, so I am assigning you all to, over the course of this week, try and find our tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and possibly more members. You've got until October begins."


	2. Chapter 2

    Tuesday afternoon. Out on the bleachers overlooking the football field, Maka sat out with Tsubaki as tryouts began. The football coach, Sid Barrett, was standing out on the field next to Black☆Star, who was acting as the team's representative. Black☆Star looked positively tiny compared to Coach Barrett, but even if that was pointed out, Maka was unsure if that would damage his ego. There was a line of students, mostly boys with a few girls, and one who was neither, wearing various forms of athletic clothing. The school's gym uniforms seemed to be the standard, save for a few exceptions, notably Ragnarok in his team uniform from last year, and Crona, who was wearing a maroon tracksuit with a white collar. _I never thought a plain old tracksuit could look so... cute,_ Maka thought.

    "Listen up, everyone!" Coach Barrett shouted. "Only some of you are going to make it on the team this year, and just by looking at this lineup, I can tell several of you won't." Coach Barrett and Black☆Star began handing out helmets to everyone.

    "Soul and Crona look a bit nervous, don't they?" Tsubaki asked. "And why is Ox Ford here? He should be in Mathletes with Harvar right now."

    "They do look really nervous," Maka said, as Soul put on his helmet. "Which one is Ox?"

    "The mostly bald one with the thick glasses," Tsubaki replied.

    "Mostly?" Maka asked.

    "He's got two hair pillars on the sides of his head, see?" Tsubaki pointed out.

    "I thought those were part of his glasses," Maka replied. _It's really easy to make that mistake from here,_ she thought, looking back over at the group. The black and white helmets covered up most everyone's hair, save for the ponytail of one girl, and a few pink sprigs peeking out from the bottom of Crona's helmet. They grabbed their arm tightly. Ragnarok hunched over and whispered something. Maka could not tell exactly what he said to them, but whatever it was made them ball up their fists and look out towards the field in a fearful determination. Coach Barrett started explaining the trials as a boy with dark skin removed his glasses and placed them on a nearby table. He put in contact lenses, then put on his helmet and returned to the group. Maka heard someone walk up the bleachers, and she turned her head to see Liz approaching Tsubaki, leaning down to her.

    "Hey, Tsu," Liz said, giving Tsubaki a peck on the lips.

    "Hey," Tsubaki happily replied. "Not trying out again for cheer this year?"

    "Meh, I kinda want to do something different, since this is my senior year and all," Liz said. "Patty has just been rambling on about how I should join the show choir team," she added. Maka and Tsubaki perked up a bit. "She's been like 'oh, Liz, it's so fun, you gotta do it, you're such a good singer,' but I don't know if I should."

    "We need a few more members to be able to actually compete, so it would be nice if you signed up, but you don't have to if you don't want to," Tsubaki replied. "But it would be really fun for us to sing together," she added with a wistful look.

    "I'll think about it, okay?" Liz said with a slight smile. She glanced briefly at Maka's eager eyes, before sitting down next to Tsubaki. "How many freshmen are in the club?" she asked as Coach Barrett blew his whistle.

    "Three for now, but more might be recruited," Tsubaki replied. "Why?"

    "Well, maybe that isn't too ba- oh man, Tracksuit just took a football to the face!" Liz exclaimed, pointing off to the tryouts, which clearly were not going too well for Crona. "Is that kid okay?" she asked, as Maka immediately stood up from her seat and prepared to descend from the bleachers. Black☆Star dashed over to Crona, and Maka went down the bleachers with the same goal in mind.

    "Are you okay?" she frantically shouted. Ragnarok yanked off Crona's helmet.

    "Nothing's bleeding, you're good." he said, handing it back to them. "You should've caught that throw with your hands."

    "I'm so sorry!" Black☆Star said. "Did you get any teeth knocked out or anything?" he asked. "My throws are very powerful."

    "No, I think I'm just a bit shaken, that's all," Crona replied, putting their helmet back on.

    "You need to go to the nurse?" Coach Barrett asked.

    "N-no, I'm completely fine!" Crona replied.

    "Okay, if you say so," Coach Barrett said. "We're going to be doing field goals, so if your girlfriend could just get off the field so she doesn't get hit by a stray ball..."

    "Girlfriend?" Crona asked, their voice making a surprised squeak. They looked over at Maka, who was the only person Coach Barrett could have referred to. It was hard to tell what most of their expression was under the football helmet, but Maka was sure they were blushing, maybe out of embarrassment, as Maka first guessed. Soul burst out laughing.

    "Girlfriend?" he asked between fits of laughter. "Jeez, they're not that close," he said.

    "Yeah, we're just friends at the moment," Maka added. _Crap, why did I add "at the moment?"_ she thought. "I'll just stay back at the bleachers," she said, trying to walk off casually. She sat down next to Tsubaki, who was still talking with Liz. _At the moment, at the moment, oh that is going to cause some rumors, isn't it?_ Maka thought. _Just like last year, everyone in my class is going to end up thinking I'm falling for one of my best friends, aren't they? I don't want all that middle school drama to just repeat all over again now that I'm in high school,_ Maka thought, looking down at Soul. _Oh wait, what am I thinking? Of course it won't be the same with Crona, I don't have to worry about this._

    "Kilik Rung, you're up!" Coach Barrett called out. The boy from earlier walked up to Black☆Star, who was holding the ball steady. _I should have recognized him, we're in a few classes together,_ Maka thought. Kilik kicked the ball, causing it to go flying at immense speeds. Sailing through the air, the ball went right between the goalposts, as well as ending up at an impressive height on its way. Black☆Star moved over to the second ball, which was at an angle instead of straight forward like the last one. Kilik performed just as well regardless of the angles for the shots of this as well as the other three subsequent balls, setting a rather intimidating standard for the others trying out, especially for a freshman.

    "Ox Ford!" Coach Barrett called out as Black☆Star retrieved the footballs.

    "Liz Thompson! Please let Kim know of my prowess as I flawlessly execute the maneuver for delivering these American footballs to the goalpost!" Ox shouted with a slight English accent. He kicked the first football, and it went through. Ox kicked the second, and it bounced off the edge of one of the goalposts. "Exaggerate a bit if you have to!" he shouted to Liz. Liz just got up and left, exasperated.

    "Does Ox have a crush on this Kim girl?" Maka asked. Tsubaki gave her a look that clearly read _"Crush? That's an understatement"_ , as Ox's third football fell short of the goalpost. The fourth one went off in such a wrong direction, it was no longer in sight of the football field. The fifth kick missed the football and hit Black☆Star in the hand. An F-bomb from Black☆Star confirmed this, as a car alarm went off in the distance, signifying the end of Football Number Four's path.

    "Watch where you kick!" Coach Barrett warned. "And Black☆Star, please refrain from such language out on the field."

    "Whose car was that?" Maka asked.

    "I'll check," Tsubaki replied. "I'm going to check whose car that was!" she shouted out to the group. Black☆Star brought out a spare football to replace the ill-fated Football Number Four.

    "Ragnarok Sk... Sve..." Coach Barrett began.

    "Skjeggestad," Ragnarok snapped in correction. "I've been on the team for three years, dammit!" he added, kicking the first football through the goalposts. _Hm, Crona and Ragnarok have different last names. Well, I guess that's not too uncommon between cousins,_ Maka thought, shrugging it off. _Still, just to stay on his good side, I should really learn how to pronounce that._ Ragnarok kicked the other four footballs through perfectly, and resigned to the sidelines where Kilik and Ox stood.

    "Crona Gorgon!" Coach Barrett called out. Crona stepped up to the line of footballs. _Come on Crona, do your best,_ Maka thought, as Black☆Star said a few things to talk them through a kick. The first football sailed past the goalposts. The second bounced off towards Maka. She caught it in a quick reflex, and threw it back to the others. Football Number Three made it in, and so did Four. The last ball came up short, and Crona walked over to the bleachers. They sat down next to Maka, and took off their helmet, wiping the sweat off their brow.

    "That wasn't very good," Crona said, as Black☆Star went off to the spare football bin.

    "You could still make it, tryouts aren't over yet," Maka replied with an encouraging smile. Crona just slouched down a bit, leaning their elbows on their knees.

    "I don't even want to do this," Crona sighed. "I should have told Black☆Star to just cross out my name from the signup sheet."

    "Then go tell Coach Barrett that you changed your mind, what harm'll it do?" Maka asked, taking a sip from her water bottle.

    "It’s fine, I’m probably not gonna make the team anyway," Crona replied. "Maybe I should just watch the rest of the tryouts from up here," they said, gazing out to the field as Soul began his line of footballs.

    "Did anything else stick out to you?" Maka asked. _Should I pitch Spartoi?_ she thought. _I could have us audition together for one of the duets, Papa never said anything about that being against the rules._

    "I looked at all the flyers on the board yesterday, but nothing really stuck out," Crona said. "And I can't just ask my mother if I could just take the bus back and spend about an hour home alone while she's still doing nurse work, she'd never allow it," they added. "I'm not sure I could do anything competitive, and everything else is either full, uninteresting, or horribly embarrassing. Should I just keep wandering the school pretending I'm actually aiming to be somewhere?"

    "No," Maka replied, putting an arm around Crona. "There’s a place for you in Spartoi if you’re interested."

    "I might look into it," Crona replied. Maka held out her hand, and Crona grasped it tightly.

    "Hey, so it turns out that was Miss Mjolnir's car," Tsubaki said, coming back up the bleachers. "I'm going to tell her right n... did I interrupt something?"

 

    The next afternoon, Maka walked with Crona and Soul into the auditorium where the rest of Spartoi was gathered, as well as two others. Patty had brought Liz, and Jackie had brought the pink-haired cheerleader Maka saw on the first day of school back at the club recruitments.

    "That's a third new person, Mr. Albarn!" Hiro exclaimed. He ran over to Crona. "Are you auditioning for us?" he excitedly asked. "Because we'll have the exact minimum number of members needed to compete with you here."

    "I, uh, I'll just be watching the audition, if that's okay," Crona replied.

    "Oh, um, that's okay," Hiro said. "Well, you can watch us, and see what you think afterwards, but you aren't going to get a lead part in any of our numbers unless you audition today, so keep that in mind," he added, walking off to Jackie and the pink-haired cheerleader.

    "So, Maka, you going to audition for a lead role?" Soul asked. "I'm not, so I guess Crona and I should go ahead and take our seats."

    "I wasn't planning on doing a lead role just yet," Maka replied, walking with the two. "Maybe if we get to State, but not right now, I need to train my voice more."

    "Testing, testing," Spirit said into the microphone. "We're gonna judge the auditions by how much applause everyone gets, so if you like someone's performance, be ready to show it. Now if you're auditioning, please come to the stage."

    Hiro, Kidd, Black☆Star, Harvar, Patty, Liz, Jackie, and the pink-haired cheerleader all got onto the stage. Tsubaki ran over to where Maka, Soul, and Crona were sitting and sat in the chair on the other side of Soul.

    "Okay, two thirds turnout, that's great," Spirit beamed. "Way better than I expected for a club that's basically all newbies. Okay, who's first up?"

    "I'm auditioning for Danny's part in 'Summer Nights', and I'll be singing 'Sexyback' by Justin Timberlake," Hiro said. "It's one of my favorite songs."

    Spirit walked back to the row behind Maka and those she sat with and took the seat directly behind her.

    "He sings this at every audition," Spirit whispered, as Hiro began to sing. "I don't mind his voice, but he's kind of a one-trick pony."

    "Also it's got nothing to do with 'Grease'," Soul added. "He sounds pretty good, though, I'll give him that."

    Hiro sang the entire song before walking back to the chairs. Only a few people clapped. Like three. Tops. Liz and Patty walked up to the mic.

    "Hey everyone, this is my awesome big sis, Liz!" Patty exclaimed, pointing to Liz. "Tsubaki and I convinced her to do an audition, and if you guys like her, she's joining!"

    "We're going to audition together for 'A Boy Like That'," Liz explained. "So we printed up the lyrics online and we're gonna sing that for you guys," she added. Liz began the first verse, and Maka's jaw dropped a small bit. Liz's voice sounded so beautifully mature, almost like one of those seemingly once-in-a-generation talents that blows everyone away.

    "Wow," Tsubaki said, as Liz ended her verse, and Patty started singing her part of the song. Thankfully, she did not incorporate heavy metal this time.

    "Yeah, she is most likely gonna get that part, unless Miss Diehl is somehow even better," Spirit said.

    "Who?" Soul asked.

    "You know, Kim. The one on stage with pink hair," Spirit replied. After the Thompson sisters finished up, there was a significant smattering of applause.

    "Everyone’s so good, it’s intimidating," Crona said, laying their hands in their lap, as Jackie walked up to the microphone with Kim.

    "We're also auditioning together for 'A Boy Like That'," Jackie said.

    "We're going to be singing 'Money Money' from Cabaret," Kim added.

    "She picked the song," Jackie groaned, as the instrumental began. The two of them immediately swept into the duet, even faking the old-timey way the song sounds in their voices. Kim pranced around a bit as she sang, obviously looking happy. Her cheerleader skirt twirled as she swung her hips a little. She grabbed Jackie's hand and spun her around a little.

    "If you happen to be rich, and you need a night's entertainment, you can pay for a gay escapade," Kim sang, lightly brushing the bottom of Jackie's chin with her index finger. Jackie turned bright red and faced the other direction, letting out a loud squeak that got completely and entirely picked up by the mic.

    "Jackie, come on!" Kim said. "Sorry, she gets like this when I act all flirtatious around her, I uh, I'll try to finish the song on my own," she added. "Now let's see..." Kim listened to the music for a few seconds, before quickly getting back to singing, abandoning the old-timey effect in her voice to let out its true clarity. At this point, it was plain to see that Jackie thought she fudged it, as she walked off the stage, and made her way up the Seating Aisle Walk of Flustered Shame to Spirit.

    "Please," Jackie begged, "put me out of my misery and just give me a supporting spot in 'Summer Nights'. But whatever you do, please still consider Kim for a lead role. After I talked to her, she said she actually did want to be in this club, but she couldn't make it to the signup sheet due to always being picked out of the hat to run the cheerleading signups. Even if you don't give Kim a lead, please just let her be in Spartoi."

    "Don't worry, Jackie," Spirit replied. "I'll make sure to let Kim in if she still wants to be."

    "Thank you," Jackie said. "Man, after knowing her since I started here, I still can't tell if she's seriously flirting with me, or it's just a joke," she added, taking the seat on the other side of Tsubaki. "Anyone else just really bad at knowing whether or not you're seriously being flirted with by friends?" Jackie asked.

    "Yeah," Soul replied, as Kim finished up her number. Jackie gave her a standing ovation, while the others just clapped normally. "Only freshman in this row who actually gets hit on, though," he lied. "Crona's an average-looking downer, while Maka just falls flat."

    "You don't have much in the way of breasts, either," Maka retorted, knowing exactly what Soul meant by that comment.

    "Yeah," Soul said. "Unlike you, I'm not the type of person who's able to grow them."

    "Still no breasts," Maka said, smugly. _I'm not letting him one-up me this evening,_ she thought.

    "Jeez, you're petty," Soul replied, as Harvar took the stage.

    "I'll be auditioning for Danny's role in 'Summer Nights', and I'll be singing 'Grease Lightning'," Harvar said, smirking to himself at the irony.

    "I see what you're doing, you punk!" Black☆Star shouted.

    "Oh, boy," Maka said, as Crona got up from their chair and started walking down the aisle.

    "Are they gonna audition?" Jackie asked. Crona walked out to the auditorium's main exit and left. "Guess not," she added, as Maka put her feet in the chair to keep it in the down position incase Crona was going to come back.

    "I'm not trying to take your role from you, just let me audition in peace!" Harvar snapped at Black☆Star. The younger boy was clearly testing his patience.

    "I'm watching you, visor boy," Black☆Star said, standing right next to Harvar during his entire audition. Harvar was visibly uncomfortable. "Now that he's out of the way, time for a real star to shine!" Black☆Star proclaimed during the applause meant for Harvar. "I'm doing 'Grease Lightning' to audition for 'Grease Lightning'."

    "I have to go to the bathroom," Harvar said, not realizing or caring that the mic picked it up. He left the stage and went out the exit. Black☆Star paid no attention to this, and began his audition. He sounded as bright and peppy as usual, particularly in the way he said "hydromatic", and the way he bellowed out "why, it's grease lightning!". Maka couldn't help but feel brighter and happier hearing Black☆Star's voice. Midway through the song, Crona came back in, walking back up the aisle with slow, yet sure steps.

    "You... you kept my seat," they said.

    "I figured you were just in the bathroom, so I saved it just in case," Maka replied, removing her feet from the seat of the chair. Crona sat back down, looking out at Black☆Star. Maka hoped his energy was going to be contagious, since for some reason, she had never seen Crona happy for more than a few fleeting moments, none of which were since the school year started. Just when they were alone together in the summer. _I don't want to be the only one who has ever seen their beautiful smile,_ Maka thought, glancing over at Crona. They had no change in expression, looking just the same as usual. An expression that looked halfway between sad and weary, especially in their eyes. Those wide, deep blue eyes that looked like they could tell a thousand stories. But then again, when you stare too long in anyone's eyes, they would look like that. Crona flinched a bit, seeming uncomfortable at what Maka had not realized was a more extended gaze than she thought.

    "Is there something on my face?" Crona whispered.

    "Yeah, right about here," Maka nervously replied, pointing to a spot on her own face. Crona moved their finger across the corresponding area on their face. "You got it off, you're good," Maka said, silently thanking herself that the lights were down, because she felt her face turning bright red. _Note to self: when you glance over at someone, don't do it for too long,_ Maka thought, as Black☆Star finished up his audition. Maka, Soul, and Tsubaki all stood up to clap for Black☆Star. Jackie did not do anything, just sitting at her seat, and Crona clapped a bit, but did not stand up or get very loud. Black☆Star took a few bows as the applause died down.

    "What's that, everyone? You want an encore?" he asked, as Harvar walked back through the door for only a few steps, before turning around and walking right back out. He pressed a speed dial button on his phone.

    "Mom, show choir let out early, so I'm gonna need you to pick me up," Harvar said into his phone at a level where it was audible enough to be heard even from the back of the auditorium. The look Black☆Star gave in his general direction boiled with fury.

    "An encore isn't needed, Black☆Star," Spirit said. "Kidd, you're up," he added. Kidd, being the only one left, took the microphone from its stand and walked out in front of Black☆Star, making sure the blue-haired boy had no opportunity to drop it again.

    "I'm auditioning for 'Grease Lightning'," Kidd said. "And I realize I'm the third person in a row to do this, but I will be singing 'Grease Lightning' as my audition song."

    "Excuse me?" Black☆Star asked. "Well, not like you could do it any better."

    "Hey, Maka, there's still plenty of time left, you think any of us should go up there after he's done?" Soul asked.

    "I already asked Papa for one of the support lines," Maka replied. "What about you?" she asked Tsubaki.

    "I don't think I'm ready for a lead role just yet," Tsubaki said.

    "What?" Soul asked in disbelief. "Your voice is so good, though," he added.

    "I tend to crack when I get too loud," Tsubaki sighed. "I want to at least remedy that a bit before I tackle a lead role," she added. "Crona, are you going to audition?"

    "I'm just here to kill some time until my mother gets off work," Crona replied. "I'm still not sure if I even want to join in the first place."

    "Well, you're always welcome here if you choose to join," Spirit said, as the group stopped conversing, and started listening more to Kidd as he sang. His voice sharply contrasted Black☆Star's, not just by being in the tenor range versus Black☆Star's soprano, but by sounding just the slightest bit clearer. Such a slight bit was noticeable, though minute. But in the harsh world of elimination rounds and auditions, such a minute change could make all the difference. But upon seeing him still standing on stage, Maka noticed Black☆Star did not look at all nervous, instead keeping his unwavering confidence and determination. _I guess that's Black_ _☆_ _Star for you,_ Maka thought, feeling a faint glow on the side of her face. She looked over to see Soul, texting someone. The name in the contact was not the name of a person, nor was it just a number. It was two poop emojis, one for the first name, and one for the last.

    "Not now," he muttered, trying to edge his way out of the conversation. Curiosity overtook Maka. Who was this person?

    "Who's the double poop emoji?" she whispered. _Two of them must mean he doesn't like this person very much, right?_

    "None of your business, Maka," Soul whispered back. _Yup, right as I figured_ , Maka thought, looking back at Kidd. He was not doing anything too showy with his audition unlike Kim and Black☆Star were, just standing up front with both hands on the mic. His face turned bright red as he came up on the words "pussy wagon", and remained that way afterwards. _Now that I hear that line for a third time, I wonder if Papa's going to change it so parents don't complain,_ Maka thought.

    "I really need to find a censored version so parents don't complain," Spirit said. _Holy crap, I got that one right, too,_ Maka thought, smirking to herself. Kidd finished up his audition with a level of applause at around the exact same level as Black☆Star's was, to the point where it was indiscernible as to who won.

    "Well, seems like a tie," Spirit said. "I wonder if it would make a difference if Harvar was here," he pondered out loud. "Can everyone  gather to the stage for my closing announcement?" Spirit asked. Maka, Soul, Tsubaki, and Jackie got up from their seats. Soul's phone blinked again in his pocket, but he ignored it.

   "Wes..." he groaned, walking down the aisle before the three girls followed suit. _Wes?_ Maka thought. _Who is Wes?_ She pondered who Wes could be as she walked down the seating aisle. _Is Wes a friend? Soul and I went to the same middle school, but not the same elementary, so it's likely Wes could be from there. But he never talked about Wes through the entirety of sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. I lost touch with most of my elementary school friends during those three years, but was Soul the same in that respect? Well, Wes could be a relative, Soul doesn't talk much about his family. But what if Wes is the 'Double Poop Emoji' in Soul's contacts? I mean, it could be possible,_ Maka thought, stepping up on stage in a circle with everyone who was in the auditorium, save for Crona and Spirit, the latter of the two approaching the stage, closely behind Maka.

   "Great job, all of you!" Spirit announced. "Judging by the applause, we've got some clear winners, who will be announced as soon as we get our twelfth member. So everyone, get scouting, and the meeting is now dismissed!"

   And with that, Spirit left the auditorium. Hiro seemed to be scanning the seats, gazing up and down the aisles, rows, and columns.

   "Is your friend still here, Maka?" he asked.

   "Dude, they'd be the only one there, look, they're coming down the aisle right now," Black☆Star said.

   "I'll see you tomorrow, Maka," Crona said, taking the right turn out the auditorium.

   "Bye!" Maka enthusiastically waved back with.

   "Is that kid's name really Crona?" Hiro asked.

   "Yeah, it's even on their ID," Soul said. "So yeah, not a nickname or anything."

   "Don't you go by a nickname, Solomon?" Liz asked. "It's Soul, right?"

   "Yeah," Soul replied.

   "And just out of curiosity, Black☆Star," Kidd began, as the group of teens made their way off the stage to pick up their bags and go home. "Is Black☆Star even your real name?"

   "Yup!" Black☆Star beamed. "I chose it myself," he added, proudly pointing to himself.

   "It's a nickname," Hiro said, to Black☆Star's annoyance. "But why do the teachers call you that?"

   Black☆Star pulled out his student ID from his bag, and there it was, plain as day. Name: Black☆Star. Gender: Male. Grade: Tenth (Sophomore). As well as his date of birth and some crucial health information.

   "You... legally changed your name to Black☆Star?" Hiro asked in disbelief.

   "Yup, parents did it with me over the summer," Black☆Star replied. "There's the little star on the official documents and everything. Took the school secretary some time to figure out how to type it."

   "You... you spell it with a star in the middle?" Kidd asked. "But you don't pronounce said star?"

   "Yeah," Black☆Star replied, in a completely casual manner. "So, any of you know who you're gonna try and recruit? Because I heard this guy in the football locker room singing in the shower and he sounds really good. I'm gonna see if he's gonna go for it tomorrow at practice," he added, his voice perking up a bit more.

    "Well, we'll have the twelve if he goes for it, so," Kim started, "But I guess maybe one of us should choose a backup person just in case this doesn't work out," she added.

 

    "I have someone in mind," Maka said.


	3. Chapter 3

    Maka stepped out of the back door of the passenger's side of Tsubaki's car, overlooking their house as Black☆Star sped up the driveway. This was the second time she had been invited over there in the past two weeks, but she did not mind it one bit. The Nakatsukasa residence was always a warm and lively place to be. Tsubaki emerged from out the driver's side door, and waited for the passenger door opposite hers to open, before locking up the car. Crona stepped out of the passenger seat, while Soul just went out the back door on the driver's side.

    "To think we'd need a second car if you didn't get your license over the summer," Soul said. "Wait... oh crap, was it legal to drive a car full of just other teens at your age?" he asked. Tsubaki paused for a bit.

    "We didn't see any cops, so we're good!" Black☆Star shouted, knocking on the door for a solid fifteen seconds straight. A short woman in her mid-to-late forties answered the door. Her black hair was tied up in a low braid, and contrasting the five teens' predominantly black school uniforms and Black☆Star's football uniform, she was wearing a white blouse with a light blue pencil skirt. "Mom!" Black☆Star shouted with glee, hugging the woman.

    "Welcome back, Black☆Star, Tsubaki," Mrs. Nakatsukasa said, as Tsubaki and the others walked up the driveway. "Oh, you brought Soul, Maka, and this must be Crona," she said, looking at the group. Black☆Star let go of his foster mother as the other four teens approached the front steps.

    "It's nice to meet you, Crona," Mrs. Nakatsukasa said, holding out a hand for Crona to shake. Crona just looked at her outstretched hand for a bit.

    "Um, nice to meet you as well," Crona replied, only moving out one arm from their side, not to shake hands, but to lightly grasp their other wrist.

    "Oh, not a hand-shaker, I see?" Mrs. Nakatsukasa pointed out. "That's quite all right," she added. "Why don't you all just come on in?" she asked, stepping out of the doorway to let everybody in."Black☆Star, I thought you would have taken off your football uniform after practice."

    "Ah, yeah, I was distracted trying to scout someone for show choir," Black☆Star replied, setting his football helmet on the living room table. "But I think he's in, or at least gonna check it out tomorrow."

    "That's great news!" Maka exclaimed, taking off her shoes at the door and setting them next to the others' pairs.

    "Tsubaki, Black☆Star, your father won't be long coming back from work," Mrs. Nakatsukasa replied. "I've just started making spaghetti for everyone," she added. "Are you kids okay with spaghetti?" she asked. Crona looked over at her, their interest piqued.

    "Yes," they replied, sounding a bit perkier than usual, as the others affirmed their positive opinions towards having spaghetti that night.

    "Is there anything I can do to help prepare?" Tsubaki asked.

    "No, but thank you very much for the offer," Mrs. Nakatsukasa replied.

    "You're welcome," Tsubaki said.

    "Hey, wanna see my room?" Black☆Star asked Crona. "Come on!" he exclaimed, walking off down the hall. Maka, Crona, Soul, and Tsubaki followed Black☆Star down the hall to the end, where there were two staircases, one leading to the upper floor and one to the basement level. Tsubaki pointed Crona upstairs where the bedrooms were, and they all went up together to a landing with a door on one side, a rather large balcony closed off by two glass doors, and another short hallway with four doors. At the end of the hallway, there was a wall shelf adorned with three framed photographs. One of Black☆Star on the right, Tsubaki in the middle, and on the left, a young man with sunken eyes, his black hair tied up in a low ponytail. He was the only one not smiling in the series of photographs.

    "The first door on the left is the bathroom, the second one is my room, Black☆Star's room is across from the bathroom, and across from my room is Masamune's," Tsubaki said.

    "Masamune?" Crona asked.

    "My older brother," Tsubaki replied. "He... he's already grown up and out of the house," she added, scratching her nose. "His room just hasn't been reused yet."

    "Is this him?" Crona asked, pointing to the leftmost photograph. Tsubaki nodded. Black☆Star flung open the door to his room.

    "Hey, get in here, I broke out Cards Against Humanity," he said. Tsubaki flinched a bit before shushing him. "It's not like Mom knows I stole it from Masamune's room in the first place. Or that he even owned it."

    "That's why I'm making sure she doesn't know!" Tsubaki replied. "We could get in serious trouble playing this," she said, as Maka and Soul went into Black☆Star's room. The room was spacious, with a small closet and twin-sized bed. There were a few pieces of dirty clothes on the floor, despite the basketball hoop over the laundry hamper. There was a large area rug over the hardwood floor to create a soft surface, ideal for sitting with friends and playing cards on. Black☆Star was seated in such a manner as to obscure the box.

    "Deal me in," Soul said, as Crona walked in and took a seat on the rug. Tsubaki begrudgingly arrived, sitting between Black☆Star and Soul, as Black☆Star began dealing out white cards. The remaining white cards were set facedown in a pile, and black cards were in another pile, with one, faceup, set out where everyone could read it. "____+____=_________"

    "Oh, this is a good one," Black☆Star said, as everyone picked up their hands. Soul looked as if he was trying to reign in laughter at one of the cards he had. The horrifically surprised look on Crona's face clearly indicated they had never played a game of Cards Against Humanity in their life. Maka tried to hold back laughing, not at her cards, but at that expression.

    "Looks like you got some good cards, Crona," Tsubaki said. "Do you know how the game works?"

    "No," Crona replied.

    "It's simple," Black☆Star said. "Just match up white cards to black cards, depending on what the black card says. Then you draw new cards to replenish your hand, and whoever's judging this round picks out the winning cards. The game continues until one of us hits a certain number of points, decided by the group beforehand," he explained. How about we play for ten points?" he asked.

    "Sure," Maka replied. "I'll judge first," she added. Everyone else looked at their hands, and set down three cards each. Black☆Star looked like he was going to erupt with laughter at any moment. Maka took a deep breath, and looked at the submissions.

    "Okay, here we go," she said. "Poor life choices plus waking up half-naked in a Denny's parking lot equals another shitty year. Cuddling plus a murder most foul equals multiple stab wounds. Finger painting plus vigilante justice equals a zesty breakfast burrito. And science plus the power of the Dark Side equals some god-damn peace and quiet. I think I'm gonna pick that last one."

    "Are you serious?" Soul asked. "What's not to love about zesty breakfast burritos?"

    "You were just getting rid of cards, weren't you?" Maka asked in return, as Black☆Star and Tsubaki drew new cards. "Okay, who played the Dark Side?"

    "That was me," Crona replied.

    "That means you're judging now," Black☆Star said, passing "____+____=_________" to Crona as the next black card was drawn. "How did I lose my virginity?" he asked, looking at the card, as Maka put her card down. Black☆Star put one down as well.

    "I'm worried about the outcome of this one," Crona said, seeing the almost demented grin on Tsubaki's face as she put her card down. Soul scanned his hand one more time, before putting a card down.

    "This is gonna be good," Black☆Star said, as Crona picked up the cards.

    "Oh my gosh..." they muttered. "Do I have to read these out loud?" they asked, as somebody knocked on the door. Everyone looked right at the door with varying degrees of fright on their faces as it slowly creaked open to reveal Mrs. Nakatsukasa. She looked at the group, not noticing what they were doing.

    "Your father just got back," she said. "Do you guys want marinara or alfredo on your spaghetti?" she asked.

    "Marinara's fine," Tsubaki said.

    "Okay then," Mrs. Nakatsukasa replied. "I'll let you know when it's ready," she added, slipping out of the room.

    "I thought we weren't allowed to play this," Crona said, taking a few breaths to try and calm themself.

    "Yeah, but Mom never gets mad at anyone while guests are over," Black☆Star replied. "Tsubaki and I are probably going to get a lecture after you three leave if she noticed what game this was," he sighed, as Tsubaki was putting cards away in a hurry.

    "Is she harsh when guests aren’t here?" Crona asked.

    "What? No," Black☆Star replied. "She's super sweet and caring all the time, like any normal mom."

    "Yeah," Soul added, vouching for his friend. "Mrs. Nakatsukasa's the greatest. She always makes sure to make us all really good food, she listens to us if we need anything, and there were a few times she consoled Maka back during the initial feelings she had spawning from her parents' divorce. We're all family to her, and she treats us equally well, like family should," he said.

    "Yeah, she's also helped with homework, always been there when we're feeling down, she took us to school every day until I got my driver's license," Tsubaki listed, shoving the Cards Against Humanity box under Black☆Star's bed. "She's done so much for all of us."

    "Oh, um, yeah, like any normal mom," Crona said, as Soul's phone started ringing. _Guys, you're making them feel guilty for saying that,_ Maka thought. _But I do really love Mrs. Nakatsukasa. She's the second best mom I've ever seen, only after my own Mama._

    "Hello?" Soul asked. "Oh, I really thought Mom or Dad would've told you I'm over at Black☆Star and Tsubaki's, why wouldn't they? Bye," he said, hanging up.

    "Who was that?" Maka asked.

    "Yeah, you got a sibling you hid from us for three years?" Black☆Star asked. "Well, about three months in Crona's case, but you know what I mean."

    "I... uhh..." Soul nervously began, looking around the room. The surroundings had not noticeably changed since he had been over the week before, and the only real abnormality to him was the regretful look on Crona’s face, so there was nothing much for him to really point out as a distraction without putting anyone else on the spot.

    "Yeah, I do," Soul sighed, sounding dejected. "An older brother named Wes. He's a violinist, but he recently got laid off from his orchestra, and now he's crashing at home for a few weeks until he gets his life together, waited on hand and foot by not only our family's staff, but my goddamn parents. He's a selfish jerk, but he's the family favorite, so what can I do but quietly resent him while everyone ignores me?"

    "How much of a selfish jerk?" Black☆Star asked, eyes lighting up with intrigue.

    "Forget it, I've already said enough," Soul replied, walking towards the door. "I have to use the restroom," he said, walking out. _So that's who Wes is_.

    "So, um," Tsubaki began, "who's this guy you're trying to scout for show choir?" she asked Black☆Star.

    "Kilik Rung," Black☆Star replied. "He's in a few classes with you two, right?" he added to Maka and Crona. "You guys know him?"

    "Yeah, but we haven't talked much yet," Maka replied, looking at Crona, who was trying to regain their composure. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

    "I'm fine," Crona replied, shaking a bit. "Um, I... I think I might actually try out tomorrow," they said, trying to change the subject. "The leads for the competition will have already been picked by then, so if they actually want me to get in, I won't have as much pressure," Crona replied.

    "Hey, can we hear what you've got for your audition so far?" Black☆Star asked, leaning in towards Crona with eager eyes.

    "I don't really have any idea for what I'm going to do," Crona replied, inching away from Black☆Star.

    "If you're out of ideas, Soul knows how to play 'Bring Me to Life' by Evanesence on piano, so if you know how to sing that..." Maka began, until Soul flung open the door.

    "I do not!" he protested. Maka gave him a smug look. "Okay, maybe I do," he sighed. "I definitely do." Soul became more weary-sounding as he spoke. "I can even sing the guy's part if you want me to."

    "That's not really necessary, I... I don't even know the words to that song," Crona replied. "Or even what it is," they said. Maka, Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki all looked at Crona with shocked expressions. Soul immediately got out his phone and started searching through his music library.

    "How do you not know that song?" Black☆Star asked. "Everyone with your type of personality knows that song!"

    "What type of personality are you even talking about?" Crona asked in return, as the song began playing from Soul's phone. The regrettably familiar lyrics took Maka back to seventh grade, when Soul listened to it nonstop. That song which sparked a dark month with Soul trapped in the epicenter, Maka and Black☆Star, but Maka especially, stuck as witnesses to the horror it spawned. Thankfully, Tsubaki had already entered high school at that point, mostly spared, but for Maka, it only left what could have been unpleasant, annoying memories, if it was not so hilarious for her to mock.

    "Nope, never heard that before," Crona said. "It's really bad, can you turn it off?"

    "Crisis averted!" Maka beamed, joy emanating from her face. She threw her arms around Crona. "Thank you," she whispered in their ear. _Be thankful you went to a different middle school. You were the only one of us truly spared._

    "Um, you're welcome," Crona replied, as Soul turned the song off. "I guess both of us hate it," they added, naive to the events of two years prior.

    "No, she likes it," Soul said, poking Maka's cheek. Black☆Star chanted "You like the song, you like the song," poking Maka's other cheek. She was getting progressively more pissed. _If you keep doing this, I swear, I'll kill you both,_ she thought.

    "What are you two doing?" Tsubaki asked.

    "We found her weakness," Black☆Star replied. "She is not gonna stop hugging Crona, no matter how annoying we get," he proudly proclaimed. Maka let go of Crona right as Black☆Star said that.

    "Run. Now." Maka said. Tsubaki managed to calm everything down after that, and the five teens just played cards until dinner was ready.

 

    They made their way down the stairs to see the dining table set for seven, with heaping plates of spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce and meatballs waiting for them. After a quick introduction between Tsubaki's father and Crona, dinner began. Maka took the first bite, the taste of a piping hot meatball, seasoned perfectly, entering her mouth. Black☆Star began shoveling bites of spaghetti into his mouth, showing a lack of table manners that tonight, was unique to him. He felt no shame.

    "Slow down, Black☆Star, there's no rush," Mr. Nakatsukasa said. Black☆Star just gave him a perplexed look before finishing the entire plate within three minutes. He walked back over to the kitchen, as everyone else was still eating normally. Maka took another bite of the spaghetti, the savory tomato and basil flavor of the marinara sauce that clung so perfectly to every noodle of the spaghetti making her question how any one human being could be able to make it this way. _If this is what the spaghetti over here is always like_ , she thought, _Black_ _☆_ _Star and Tsubaki must live in spaghetti heaven._ _And no wonder Tsubaki's a good cook, if this is the result of the person who teaches her._ Black☆Star peeked back into the dining room from the kitchen door.

    "Mom, where are my seconds and thirds?" he asked.

    "I didn't think you were bringing three guests over for dinner, so there isn't any extra spaghetti or meatballs left," Mrs. Nakatsukasa replied. "There's some apples in the fridge if you're still hungry," she added. Maka heard the fridge door slam after a few seconds, and Black☆Star came back with three apples. The boy was known for eating a lot, and Maka could see why, considering how amazing the food was here.

    "Can someone please pass the parmesan?" Tsubaki asked. Maka handed the small bowl of freshly grated parmesan over to her. Tsubaki sprinkled a bit onto her pasta, before setting the bowl back down in the middle of the table, where her father grabbed it to put more on his own plate.

    "So, how was school, everyone?" he asked.

    "It was great!" Black☆Star replied. "I got a better grade than I thought on my pop quiz, the potatoes at lunch were really good, and I threw a football farther than anyone else at practice!"

    "I learned a lot of very interesting things in class, and I got to hang out with Liz in the library during the afterschool period, so overall I had a great day," Tsubaki said.

    "I got a perfect score on the beginning-of-the-year quiz we had for History," Maka added. "Looks like I'm going to be at the top of my class for another year if I keep going at this rate."

    "Some kid a few tables over blew milk out of his nose at lunch," Soul said. "On purpose. I thought this was high school, not elementary," he sighed.

    "I forgot the combination to my own locker, and my lunch got stolen from me before I could even get to the table," Crona said. "But Maka shared hers with me, and it was something that I liked much better than I was originally gonna have, so it worked out," they added, taking another bite of pasta. A soft smile spread across their face as they looked down at their food.

    "Huh, I just realized I had never seen you smile before today," Soul said. "Maka's right, it is really nice."

 

    The next school day was so far going well, with the second week coming to a close. As far as Maka was concerned, high school was still fun and exciting, and would remain that way all semester. And that feeling remained all day, even as Maka, at the end of her last class, took Crona's hand, and the two went off together towards the doors of a room that was quickly becoming familiar.

    "I have our twelfth member!" Maka, Black☆Star, and Harvar all shouted, as they entered the choir room. The rest of Spartoi turned over to look at them, eight teens and one faculty advisor eager to see who would launch their team into competitive eligibility.

    "This is Kilik, I snagged him from the football team," Black☆Star said, his arm around Kilik, who gave a sheepish grin.

    "I brought Ox from Mathletes," Harvar said. Kim glanced at the sunlit glare of Ox's mostly bald head, an exasperated look on her face, but right as he returned the glance, she looked back over to Jackie and whispered something to her.

    "I brought Crona, and they aren't in any other clubs at the moment," Maka added.

    "Okay, let's see what they’re made of," Spirit said. "Which one of you would like to go first?" he asked.

    "I will!" Ox replied. "This is a song I wrote myself," he said. "It is called 'Ode to a Diehl: An Acrostic in Song'."

    "Oh, Lord," Kim groaned. Ox stood where everyone could see him, and looked directly at Kim.

    "K is for Kim, the most beautiful girl in the world, I is for I am in love with you," he sang, atrociously off-key and horribly nasal, "M is for my magnificent angel, D is for a darlingness so true, I for incredible devotion in my feelings, E is for eternal happiness whenever I look by, H is for how perfect you are, and L for this never being a lie."

    Ox had made eye contact with Kim the entire time he sang this. And at this point, Harvar appeared to be filling up with regret at bringing Ox in, because not only would Ox have embarrassed himself, but he sounded absolutely terrible while doing it, only pulling him further and further into the abyss of shame. But judging by the look on his face, Ox didn't seem to be feeling any at all. Hiro stepped up to Ox, a smug look on his face.

    "So that's all you got, huh?" he asked, trying to act tough.

    "I can dance, just give me some room," Ox replied. He stepped back a single step with only his right foot. Ox set his backpack aside, before doing a pivot turn, facing away from the group, before moonwalking a few steps into the center of the room. _Tell me he's not,_ Maka thought, as Ox started doing some weird interpretive dance stuff with his arms. Then Ox did a backflip, and during the landing, spun out into a pirouette that went on for at least ten rotations before Ox turned it into a high jump which landed with a kick. He did a shimmying motion with his shoulders while taking a few steps to the side. And then to the other side, before he stopped. All of this was without any accompanying music.

    "I apologize for the unrehearsed mess, please take me into consideration for the twelfth slot," Ox said.

    "Thank you, Ox," Spirit replied, looking dumbfounded. "Kilik, you're up," he added.

    "I heard you guys were doing some songs from classic musicals, so I will be doing the first verse of 'Jet Song' from West Side Story," Kilik said, before beginning the first verse. Kilik's voice was strong, powerful, and pleasant-sounding, hitting a slightly gruff sound on a few notes. Unfazed at singing in front of a crowd, he hit every note of the short verse he sang perfectly.

    "If you came in on the initial audition, we could've given you a lead role in our set," Spirit said. "Welcome to Spartoi, Kilik."

    "Thank you, Mr. Albarn," Kilik said, walking over with Black☆Star to two chairs, where the two boys sat down and began chatting. Black☆Star sounded even more animated and enthusiastic than usual in his praise of Kilik's audition. _I guess he really likes this new friend of his,_ Maka thought, smiling.

    "And Ox, you seem very versatile in your dancing ability, so we'd love to have you here as a backup dancer," Hiro added.

    "Thank you, Club President!" Ox shouted with glee. He ran right over to sit with Kim, who moved over to the empty chair on the other side of Jackie.

    "Okay, we've got one more person left, right?" Spirit asked, looking over at Maka and Crona. Maka held both of Crona's hands and gave them an eager look.

    "You're gonna do great," she said, walking back off to the three rows of black and white chairs, and sitting in the front row. Crona stepped out from the doorway to a place overlooking the seats, but still standing against the wall. All eyes were still on them, as they took a sheet of paper out of their backpack. They held the piece of paper in one hand, with their backpack straps resting against the opposite forearm.

    "I... I didn't really have an idea on what song I was going to audition with, so I thought maybe I could just use one of my poems and kind of put it to a tune," Crona said, taking a deep breath. Their voice began to sound shaky with the first stanza, and they did not take their eyes off the paper, even for a second. Their voice stabilized, keeping at a soft tone, and a pitch that was neither too high or too low. But the general sound was nowhere near unremarkable, in stark contrast to their usual speaking voice. _I had no idea they had the voice of an angel,_ Maka thought, starting to pay attention to the words they sang, wondering if what they wrote would provide any more insight to a side they did not normally want to show in person. But the words were dark and dreary, though abstract, and were dragging the whole room down. Even Black☆Star and Patty's enthusiasms were dwindled. The atmosphere of the room became thick with gloom, until the only sound that could be heard was a beautiful, soft voice, and even that drained its last sound of hope by the end. Crona looked out to the crowd and their melancholic faces. Liz was even crying a bit.

    "I wish I hadn't been born," Soul said. Black☆Star, Ox, Jackie, Spirit, Patty, and Kidd echoed that statement, one by one. Liz leaned onto Tsubaki's shoulder and whispered something to her. Tsubaki put an arm around her and held her close.

    "Was I really that bad?" Crona asked, looking out with such a vulnerable stare, like they were about to cry. There was a deep regret in their eyes as they awaited the answer.

    "No, not at all," Spirit replied, tears streaming down his face as he stood up. Maka stood up as well, walking over with her father to her trembling friend. "That, that was beautiful," Spirit added. "Despite being the bleakest and most saddening thing I ever heard in my life, it was beautiful."

    "Are you okay?" Maka asked. Crona hesitated for a second.

    "I'm fine," Crona replied. "Now that I think about it, that poem was too personal to use," they whispered. "I think I might be depressed."

    "Crona, that’s kinda concerning, please talk to the counselor," Maka said. _I thought it was just an abstract poem, not about anything in particular._ "The poem’s not bad though, and your voice was beautiful," she added, before leaning in really close to them. "If you need me for anything, I’ll be here," Maka whispered into Crona's ear. She held them close. "You weren't bad, it was just really emotional," she said.

    "I'm actually amazed at what you were able to do with everyone's emotions," Hiro said, walking up. "Mr. Albarn, are we getting a third new member today?" he asked, turning to Spirit.

    "Yes," Spirit replied. "Crona, you're in," he added, before turning back to face the crowd. "Now, does anyone have any pictures of cute pets or something to get this room happy again before we start prepping for the preliminaries?"

    "I have a puppy," Kim replied. "I found him as a stray last year and nursed him back to health," she added.

    "Ooh, so you're not all abrasive?" Ox asked. "That soft side makes me feel like I have a cha-"

    "No," Kim interjected. "Ox, you've been at this for three years, let it go. I am not interested."

    "Yeah, but have you seen the fedora I just bought?" Ox asked. "I heard it's what all the American boys are using to be more attractive."

    "So you are British..." Soul noted.

    "A fedora'll make you less attractive, Ox," Kim added.

    "Can I see your dog?" Spirit asked.

    "Oh, sure," Kim replied, pulling her phone out of her bag. Everyone but Maka and Crona gathered around to see, with the latter still in the former's embrace.

    "It's a fluffy white puppy!" Patty exclaimed.

    "I have video," Kim added.

    "Maka, come look at this!" Soul called out. "It can do tricks."

    "Okay," Maka replied, letting go of Crona. _I guess I can look at a different cute thing for a bit,_ she thought. The pictures and videos of Kim's puppy worked wonders on returning the joyful atmosphere to the choir room, and the group was ready for the beginnings of their competitive preparation in no time.

    "As most of you know, we are doing a preliminary competition at the end of November," Spirit said. "We're not getting the announcement of venue and opponents until next month, and with fourteen members, we are now two over the minimum count for competing. So we are now officially eligible!"

    The team cheered.

    "Hiro and I are going to file everything over the weekend, so all we need is for everyone to sign their names onto this list to signify we have the proper member count," Spirit explained. "Any order is fine, I just need you all to get your names on there."

    Hiro passed out the list, and people began to sign it as Spirit kept explaining things.

    "We have a theme this year, and it's 'Classic Musicals'," Spirit said. "All three of our songs are from either Grease or West Side Story, and auditions have already been held and roles have already been chosen, so without further ado... we have Kidd and Black☆Star doing 'Grease Lightning', Liz and Patty doing 'A Boy Like That', and Kim and Harvar doing 'Summer Nights'!"

 

   The first week of preparations was rough and rocky, with the lack of experience among many of the members being very apparent. Black☆Star kept drowning out Kidd's vocals, Patty just couldn't focus on her choreography, and Kim and Harvar had not quite mastered the timing for playing off each other's vocals.

    "It's only the first week, everyone, don't get too discouraged," Spirit reminded everyone at the end of Friday afternoon. "We may have some problems at first, but all teams do."

    "Not me," Black☆Star whispered to Maka.

    "Black☆Star, we need to be able to hear Kidd's voice too since this is a duet," Spirit said.

    "That's right, Black☆Star," Kidd added. But before Black☆Star could make his rebuttal, an ominous yet familiar silhouette appeared at the other side of one of the choir room doors.

    "All right, assholes, guidance counselor says I have to join a stupid arts club!" Ragnarok shouted, flinging open the door to the point where the hinge nearly broke. Crona gasped in horror. "What's that, surprised to see me?" Ragnarok asked.

 

    Maka could not believe her eyes at what was happening.

    "I've got the note and everything," Ragnarok said, noticing Spirit's expression of disbelief.

    "You have to audition just like the rest of us," Spirit replied.

    "Come on, you gotta show us what you got," Hiro added.

    "I ain't taking orders from a wimp like you," Ragnarok snapped at Hiro. He took a seat in the front row. "I don't even care if you don't let me do any activities, I just gotta pretend to be in this club just to get Miss Mjol-nerd off my back."

    "Okay, watching is fine, but you actually gotta do something to be added to the club roster," Spirit replied. Maka felt someone squeeze her arm really tight, and looked over to see Crona, almost trembling. "Alright everyone, we're gonna do practice for 'Summer Nights, so get the chairs in position!" Spirit called out. All the girls and Crona each picked up a chair and took them to an empty spot in the room, arranging the chairs in such a formation so that it looked like they were around a rectangular table. The boys took seats in the regular seating area to mock bleachers. Kim and Harvar sat like they were the centers of their little groups, and rehearsal began.

 

     And two days later at the next meeting, Ragnarok showed up again.

    "This may be a lame and shitty club with no talent, but I guess if it can help me kill time, I'm signing up," he said. "Don't worry, faculty advisor, I got Hiro to do everything official yesterday," he added.

    "Where is Hiro?" Maka asked, looking around the room for him. _It's unusual for the club president to skip out._

    "I'm here!" Hiro replied as if on cue. His face was a bit swollen on one side. "And I... I couldn't be happier for us having fifteen members!" he added, rubbing the swelling.


	4. Chapter 4

    Two weeks of practice went by, and despite it now being less than a month before the preliminaries, Spartoi was still nowhere near of a stellar performance, just barely grazing acceptable, even with their month's improvement. It didn't help that including Maka, most of the members had zero experience related to anything show choir, save for a few of them having watched some episodes of _Glee_ in a preparation of false hope. Turns out it doesn't take only two to three weeks to flawlessly prepare for a competition, and improvised routines do not look nearly as good as pre-choreographed ones. And it did not help that the venue and opponents had been announced, giving the group additional pressure.

    "Okay, everyone, take a five minute break, and we'll take it from the top again," Spirit said. The members dispersed into smaller groups. Maka stood with Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki. Half this small group, including Maka, looked dejected.

    "Let's be honest, do you guys think we're gonna actually have a chance?" Soul asked.

    "With me splitting the lead in our first number, we'll already have won the moment I hit my first note," Black☆Star replied.

    "If only everyone else had your optimistic spirit," Maka sighed.

    "We're only competing against two other schools," Tsubaki interjected. "A juvenile correctional school just outside of the next town over, and some public school named after a long-dead forgettable president."

    "At least we've got one advantage," Maka said. "The competition's on our own turf."

    "Not to mention the Thompson sisters," Tsubaki added. "Putting Liz and Patty together is going to be our mid-routine secret weapon," she said, not escaping the chance to praise her girlfriend and said girlfriend's younger sister.

    "And Black☆Star, I should probably point out you and Kidd aren't vocally harmonizing well," Soul interjected.

    "You know the reason why I have a higher register than him, Soul," Black☆Star replied. And besides, one of our advantages outweighs all our disadvantages combined," he added.

    "You?" the other three asked.

    "Who else could it be? Kidd's got nothing on me," Black☆Star replied, as the door to the choir room opened. Ragnarok entered the room, with Crona coming in shortly behind him. They were both twenty minutes late.

    "Not sorry I'm late, assholes," Ragnarok said, throwing his bag aside.

    "I'm very sorry I'm late, it won't happen again," Crona added, setting their bag gently with the other ones.

    "This better be a good story, since both of you are so late," Mr. Albarn scowled. "Crona, I expect better of you. Ragnarok, you're not usually on time anyway, but it's never this bad." he added.

    "Well..." Crona said.

    "So get this," Ragnarok loudly interrupted. "I was off vandalizing one of the boys' bathrooms, when..."

    "You were doing what?" Maka asked, a demanding tone to her voice.

    "I'm not done yet!" Ragnarok snapped. "I heard some guys outside had cornered my stupid cousin and were yelling at them about some shit," he added, ignoring his reprimanding from the cuss word. "I just continued my crude drawing of Mr. Buttataki doing something nasty with the Burger King king since this wasn't my business..."

    Patty, Kilik and Black☆Star erupted into immature giggling fits, as Soul chuckled a bit.

    "You guys are right, it is hilarious," Ragnarok said.

    "No it's not, it's against school rules," Spirit replied, writing something down in his notebook. "I'll let Joe decide your punishment," he said.

    "I don't give a shit," Ragnarok replied. "So those guys outside were yelling something and they must've stolen Crona's bag or something, because they were trying to tell those guys to give their stuff back for some reason, those guys wouldn't listen, and I was kinda pissed because only I get to tease that little bastard," he added. "I figured if it was just verbal taunting Crona could handle themself for a second, so I finished up my drawing, before hearing the sound of a missed punch hitting a locker, and I know it wasn't Crona who threw it because their punches are shit. Actually, shit could punch better."

    "Wow," Soul muttered.

    "So I walked out there, only because I was done drawing, and the assholes told me to join in since I enjoy making fun of my cousin so much, and let me tell you, that was pretty tempting, but we were running late, so I just took their bag from the one asshole's hand, gave it back to Crona, and yanked them out of there by the ear, with the intent of dragging them off to yell at them for being such a wimp, but then one of those assholes back there called me a sympathizing wuss, so I pushed Crona aside and told the asshole guy to fight me and that's why I'm late," Ragnarok said, concluding his story.

    "Yeah, no matter how heroic your intent, you're gonna at least get detention for that," Spirit replied. "Maybe even in-school suspension if you actually did fight that guy."

    "He wussed out, so I left after that so Crona could at least show up here," Ragnarok explained. "The idiot was dazed for a bit so it took a few extra minutes. Plus, heroic is the last word you should describe me with."

    Ragnarok made his way to the center of the choir room and just stood there, while Crona looked back up at Spirit.

    "I'm not going to do anything more than marking you as late, Crona, okay?" Spirit asked.

    "Okay," Crona replied, walking over to Maka, who gave them a smile and a little wave.

    "Everyone get back to practice!" Spirit ordered. "We're gonna do another runthrough of Summer Nights, before I work with the boys again for some straightening up of our Grease Lightning routine."

    "Has the art club finished our car prop yet?" Kidd asked.

    "Not yet," Spirit replied, as the teens took their places, boys on one side of the room, girls and Crona on the other. Maka and her group got out chairs, arranging them around a still-imaginary table, while, just as usual, the boys sat bleacher-style in the remaining seating. Kim and Harvar sat out to affirm their status as leads, and therefore, the center of attention in their respective groups, which was harder for Harvar now since Ragnarok was so tall and muscular he looked out of place in his generally average-and-below-heighted peers. The music started up, and everyone made their scripted chatter about a hypothetical affair between Kim and Harvar. In reality, neither of them were romantically interested in one another. But they figured they could act it for one song's length. Harvar began the opening line, and Kim followed suit with the next one. Their voices played off each other well, although their timing was still imperfect by a second or two.

    Eventually, the group did an acceptable performance. But only acceptable. Spirit mumbled something about having to schedule extra practice again, which Maka could immediately tell was not a good sign. _We've been doing extra practice almost every weekend. I wonder if this has been taking a toll on the others?_

    "Okay, now we're going to be splitting up," Spirit said. "Boys, stay on the floor, we're gonna run through Grease Lightning again. Everyone else, bring your chairs back and do stuff amongst yourselves," he added.

    As the boys began to practice, Maka got out her math notebook and practiced solving a few practice equations, using the practice as her white noise. Unfortunately for her, this white noise became too much, too off-key, and too loud. Maka figured it would be better to just put on some noise-cancelling headphones and use her music to try and block it out, but she had left said headphones at home. _I guess I could just do my homework at home,_ she thought, setting her book down. Patty seemed to be waiting for that exact moment, and immediately started talking.

    "I swear, at least they don't mess up the words," she said, commenting on the practicing boys.

    "Yeah, that's pretty fortunate," Maka replied. "Is anyone here still having that problem, though?" she asked. _Right now, for the boys, it's lack of vocal harmony that's their issue. For us, it's more of a choreographic timing thing_ , she thought.

    "Are you having trouble with the lyrics?" Jackie asked in return.

    "Not really, but then again, I'm mostly doing backups, and only one line in Summer Nights," Maka replied. "You know, just 'was it love at first sight', not too difficult if you ask me."

    "Patty and I have all our lyrics down," Liz said, proudly grinning.

    "It's really choreography that's been difficult for everyone to coordinate," Tsubaki lamented. _And cue the "Maka has two left feet" jokes,_ Maka thought. To her pleasant surprise, they were not cued.

    "I mean some of us can manage, but there are a few who are trailing behind," Liz sighed. "Myself included."

    "What are you talking about, Sis?" Patty asked in disbelief. "You're such a great dancer," she continued, playfully sidehugging Liz.

    "Aww, Patty," Liz said, giving her younger sister a pat on the shoulder before they broke off their hug.

    "Seriously, you're one of the better ones," Maka added.

    "Maka, you're not a horrible dancer either," Crona interjected, more blurting it out than calmly saying it.

    "Thank you," Maka replied. _Well, at least one person thinks I can dance._

    "You're welcome," Crona stammered, glancing over to make eye contact with Maka for a few seconds, before looking back down at their feet.

    "You know, I don't actually think any of us are really horrible at dancing, it's just most of us aren't used to choreography," Tsubaki said. "I know we all have the potential to be great, and win for each other, but we're not all fully applying ourselves," she added. "I'm sure if we all work just a bit harder, we'll be sure to be able to achieve more than just the acceptable."

    "Great speech, but we're working our butts off as it is," Kim replied. "And not to mention some of us have other extracurriculars," she added. Maka frowned a bit. She didn't like seeing anyone talk to Tsubaki with that attitude.

    "I would suggest we all do a block practice with just the lyrics, but most of us have already passed that stage," Maka said. "In fact, the only ones having problems are Ox and," she started, before lowering her voice and motioning everyone to lean in closer to her. "Ragnarok," she finished, before giving an aside glance to check that Ragnarok did not hear her.

    "But he doesn't really give a damn, does he?" Liz asked. "And he's also on the football team, so why is he still bothering with this club?" she added. "The counselor's got to have him off her back by now."

    "Maybe he likes it here," Tsubaki innocently replied.

    "Huh, okay," Liz said with disbelief. "It's just I'm kind of suspicious of him, that's all."

    "You should be," Maka added. "He's been hanging around the halls between classes just to antagonize Crona. It's awful, and I'm already sick of it."

    "Maka," Crona said, as Ragnarok started storming over to the group. Tsubaki and Maka cautiously formed a protective barrier in front of Crona, who was beginning to look anxious. Maka balled her hands into fists to the point where her fingernails started digging into the flesh of her palms.

    "What the hell?" Ragnarok snapped. "Are you talking shit about me?"

    "So what?" Maka asked, not giving him the satisfaction of eye contact.

    "So what?" Ragnarok asked in return, slightly raising a balled-up fist. "You act like you're such tough shit now, Albarn," he started. _Five feet of fury._

    "I just think you shouldn't be harassing your cousin, that's all," Maka replied. "Am I not allowed to voice my opinion?"

    Ragnarok leaned really close in to Maka, who leaned backwards, not wanting him up in her face.

    "You better be glad that under other circumstances, I'd be punching you in the face right now," Ragnarok hissed.

    "But?" Maka asked.

    "Actually, I don't give a shit if I'm kicked out right now," Ragnarok replied. "I can still mess with them regardless," he added, raising his fist. Liz saw Spirit look over at the scene, and Black☆Star stopped practicing for a second, his hands forming fists. Ragnarok threw the punch, but Maka bent backwards just far enough for the punch to miss.

    "Sk...Skve... aw, screw it, Ragnarok, what the hell are you doing?" Spirit asked.

    "Did you hear what she was saying?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Don't try to act like a victim here," Maka snapped. She felt someone tap on the back of her shoulder, and turned to see Crona with a curious mix of fear and anger on their face. "Let him have it," Maka said to them, letting her friend pass through her side of the barrier.

    "I'm sure whatever my precious daughter was saying didn't warrant you to try and hit her!" Spirit snapped, every word firing into Ragnarok like a gun shooting a bulletproof vest. He did not care about what Spirit had to say about this, not now nor ever.

    "She-"

    "I don't wanna hear it," Spirit interjected. "If I see you even attempt to hit anyone else, especially Maka, you'll be finished, and I'll make sure to tell Coach Barrett at football practice."

    "Not like I want to participate in this moronic club's activities anyway," Ragnarok muttered. _Then why is he here?_ Maka thought. _Participation is completely voluntary._

    Crona approached Ragnarok, and looked up at him with a mix of fear and disapproval, an expression Ragnarok was unable to read.

    "What, you on her side?" Ragnarok asked.

    "I..." Crona started.

    "You are, aren't you? Feeling sympathy for someone who deserves to get hit?" Ragnarok asked, leaning really close to Crona's face. Crona leaned back a bit to keep some distance.

    "Can you not take it out on h-" Crona started.

    "Tell you what, we can finish this where there aren't any teachers present," Ragnarok hissed.

    "At least let them finish their sentences," Maka interjected, as Ragnarok stormed off to rejoin the other boys. "Can you believe that guy?" Maka asked, turning to Crona. "What's even his deal with still being here? And are you going to actually fight him after practice?" _Please don't, he's a foot taller, and his bicep looks bigger than your waist,_ she thought.

    "It's fine, I can talk to him," Crona replied, gripping their arm tightly. _Okay, maybe it will be fine, and either they'll hold their own, or they'll be able to get out of fighting,_ Maka thought, seeing Liz's expression become more admirable.

    "I don't know how you do it, making sure he backs down like that," Liz interjected. "It's like you've got Tsubaki's peacekeeping powers or something."

    "It's not peacekeeping," Crona replied, their head lowering.

    "Is he treating you like his punching bag?" Maka shrieked. _I thought he was just teasing them and bossing them around,_ she thought. The entire room froze up, Ragnarok especially.

    "He can be a bit harsh, but I wouldn't go that far," Crona replied, feeling an icy stare upon them.

    "Is he doing anything to hurt you?" Tsubaki asked with almost motherly concern.

    "I'm not!" Ragnarok yelled in reply, crossing his arms. "We may get into fights and I sometimes yell, but I don’t want to see them seriously hurt, so shut up," he added. Maka felt the tension in the room grow steadily.

    "Shouldn't we be getting back to practice?" Soul nervously asked.

    "I couldn't agree more," Maka replied, looking over at Crona. _I wonder which one of us is more nervous?_

    "All right then," Spirit added. "We'll be doing some choreography practice for both the boys' and girls' routine," he said. "Remember to scale your movements down to only half the room at maximum, and make sure not to bump into anyone."

    Maka stood off to the side with Kim, Jackie, Tsubaki, and Crona, as Liz and Patty stood halfway between the center and right side of the room. Spirit called out a "5, 6, 7, 8," signaling the routines to begin. Liz turned around and started acting out her part silently, while Black☆Star and Kidd gestured around a block of chairs which were being used in place of the car prop, with Black☆Star getting on top of the "hood".

    "Get down from there!" Spirit exclaimed.

    "Why?" Black☆Star asked, as Soul and Ragnarok each put a foot on the back of the chair formation.

    "For the fifth time this month, none of you actually get on or in the car," Spirit replied.

    "Wait, what?" Soul asked, as Patty began doing the moves for her part of her routine too early.

    "Patty, you start after the spinout, specifically when Jackie crosses the center," Spirit said, pointing to a spot on the floor. "Got that?"

    "Okay!" Patty replied in a singsong voice, returning to her first spot.

   

    After a few more minutes of practice, the bell rang. Maka picked up her bag, and slung the strap over her shoulder. The weight of all her textbooks started pushing down on the strap, and she winced a bit. _Okay, next time I am not leaving my backpack at Papa's house on the day before I go back to Mama's._

    "Maka, are you ready?" Spirit asked.

    "Even if I wasn't, it won't affect the time you leave, since I'll be taking the bus back to Mama's tonight," Maka replied, not even looking at him. "But yes, I'm ready," she added, leaving the choir room beside Tsubaki and Kim. Ragnarok immediately pulled Crona away from the group, and half-led-half-dragged them around the corner.

    "We've still got a couple minutes," Maka said, tapping on Tsubaki's shoulder and pointing off down the hall. Tsubaki instantly understood what Maka meant, and motioned for Soul and Black☆Star to come follow them. The four dashed around the corner, following Ragnarok out back by the dumpsters, where he was letting go of Crona's arm, looking like he was going to yell at them. The situation seemed to be calming down, but Maka still didn’t want to sit idly by.

    "It looks like they’re just gonna talk it out," Soul said. "Let's go," he added. Maka raised an eyebrow.

    "What the hell are you four doing here?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Just checking to see you weren't going to do anything to our friend," Tsubaki replied.

    "Tsubaki, I've got this under control," Crona stammered.

    "I helped start this, I should finish it," Maka retorted. "I don't want him to bring you into this, you don't have to be a martyr," she added. "Now, Ragnarok, your quarrel was with me, not them."

    "What, do you want me to actually hit you this time?" Ragnarok asked, chuckling. _Obviously not,_ Maka thought, rolling her eyes. Maka could see that Ragnarok did not seem to want to back down, and either she or Crona was going to end up being on the receiving end of it. And both didn't want it to be the other.

    "If you even touch either of them, you bastard," Black☆Star snapped.

    "Albarn, do you really think your backup will scare me off?" Ragnarok asked, ignoring Black☆Star.

    "I'm sure we can solve this peacefully," Tsubaki added, which to Ragnarok, only seemed to prove his point. He laughed in his usual cacophonous manner.

    "Peacefully?" he asked. "What am I, a hack?"

    "No, it's just this can easily be solved with a compro-"

    Tsubaki was interrupted by Ragnarok lifting her up by the shirt collar.

    "Put her down!" Maka and Black☆Star both furiously snapped at him. Soul and Crona clenched their fists.

    "Compromising is not my thing," Ragnarok replied to Tsubaki, throwing her down. Ragnarok then dodged an attempted hit in the face from Black☆Star, which only ended up getting him in the shoulder due to Black☆Star being almost a foot and a half shorter. Ragnarok absorbed the hit like it was nothing.

    "Nobody hurts my sister," Black☆Star said.

    "Wasn't she just your foster sister?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Who the hell cares about a stupid technicality like that?" Black☆Star replied, throwing another punch. "Tsubaki is just as much a sister to me as she would be if she were my biological one!" he yelled, hitting Ragnarok in the jaw. Soul helped Tsubaki up, as Maka ran over to Crona.

    "Get out of here," she said to them. "Don't worry about Black☆Star, he can handle himself," she added, motioning down the hallway towards the exit.

    "Maka, you're making a mistake," Crona replied. "He'll end up after the both of us," they added, as Black☆Star jumped onto Ragnarok's back, taunting him. "And definitely Black☆Star, at this point," Crona sighed.

    "Black☆Star's handled worse, he'll be fine," Maka replied, as Ragnarok physically threw Black☆Star off of him, straight into Soul, yet missing Tsubaki. Maka winced.

    "That's gotta hurt," she stated. "Just get out of here, you don't need him to hurt you," she added to Crona. "The four of us will make sure this ends soon."

    "Maka..." Crona began, looking over past Maka at Ragnarok. Whatever he must have been doing seemed to enrage them. "...I'm going to stay and fight."

    "Okay!" Maka replied, before turning around to see Ragnarok holding Tsubaki by the arm. Tsubaki was arguing with Ragnarok, her words attempting to provide a sting to his brutish demeanor, and hopefully to make him back down and think twice about hurting anyone further. Despite being held by the arm in a crushing grip, Tsubaki did not back down. Maka admired her bravery in the face of this danger, and incase it escalated, she was definitely ready to back her up. Ragnarok flung his arm outwards, causing Tsubaki to stumble and fall over. Enraged, Maka marched up, straight in front of Ragnarok, and opened the flap on her bag, pulling out her copy of _The Complete Works of Shakespeare_. Maka sprung up into the air, delivering the book's spine straight into Ragnarok's forehead.

    "Maka Chop!" she shouted, landing feet-first onto the tiled floor, bending her knees to absorb the shock.

    "Holy crap, I haven't seen the Maka Chop since we graduated middle school," Soul said. Ragnarok just swatted the book out of Maka's hand, and it landed in front of Crona as they were running in to join the fight. They jumped back a bit in an attempt to dodge the large and heavy book, their left shoulder directly hitting the corner of the dumpster. Maka winced. That was not how she expected the Maka Chop to go down.

    "Sorry," she said.

    "You better be sorry!" Ragnarok shouted, saliva going everywhere. "That book better not leave a bruise, I don't want a shrimpy freshman like you to have made a mark," he added. Maka smirked, as Black☆Star got up from the ground.

    "I'm not done with you just yet!" he shouted, as Soul groaned in pain.

    "Wish you were, I’m growing tired of this," Ragnarok replied, punching Black☆Star in the chest. Black☆Star let out a small groan, before attempting to take a swing at Ragnarok, who shielded himself with Maka. Black☆Star still ended up hitting Ragnarok, since Maka was so tiny. Ragnarok threw Maka to the ground, and slammed Black☆Star into the dumpster. He then grabbed Crona by their shirt collar, just as they tried to land a hit on him. Maka swept in, picked up her book, and delivered another Maka Chop to the back of Ragnarok's head. He braced himself through the pain, but before he could do anything else, a blonde, snakelike woman with a twist in her hair turned around a corner to see the scene. Maka froze up. _Crap, it's Medusa,_ she thought, bracing for the inevitable punishment that came from faculty catching fights.

    "Ragnarok, unhand my child, the two of us have to return home," Medusa said, her strong Greek accent shining through thicker than her child's. "Miss Albarn, Miss Nakatsukasa, Mr. Evans, Black☆Star," she added, with a heightened tone of annoyance at Black☆Star's name.

    "Don't worry, Nurse, I don't have to see you this time," Black☆Star replied, as Ragnarok set Crona down. Crona hurriedly ran up at the heels of their mother, as the two went around the corner to the parking lot.

    "Maka Albarn," Ragnarok started. "Next time, don't interrupt me when I'm with Crona," he added, glaring at her.

    With that, Ragnarok left, leaving Maka, Tsubaki, and a slightly dazed Soul and Black☆Star.

    "That went better than expected," Soul said.

    "He literally threw me onto you," Black☆Star added.

    "We're not injured or dead, though, and Crona's safe, so I guess Maka's accomplished her goal," Soul replied, trying to stretch out the pain as a bit of blood started to drip from Black☆Star's nose. Tsubaki was rubbing her arm, and all Maka had to do was put her book back in her bag. She was glad nobody would end up with more than a bruise.

    "Black☆Star, your nose!" Tsubaki quaked.

    "I'll be fine," Black☆Star replied, stuffing a tissue into the bleeding nostril. "Takes more than that to defeat a big man like myself," he added, walking out down the hallway, the other three following close behind.

    "Why didn't we get in trouble for all that?" Maka asked.

    "You know mothers, always putting their children's well-being before anything else," Tsubaki replied.

    "I guess that's true," Maka said, smiling a bit. _And fortunate for us_.

 

    Out in the parking lot, Maka made her way to the bus, relieved that she had just barely made it, and silently hoped there'd be less chaos next meeting. She sat down with Soul, and listened to him ramble on about the fight, as well as stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with the meeting. After he paused for a second, Maka tuned out, and stared out the window. Thoughts drifted through her mind about the afterschool period's events, and she sighed. _Is Ragnarok going to end up harassing me as well as Crona? Or are things going to get worse for just them? I don't want either of us to be targets._

    "Thanks for listening again, Maka," Soul said. "I swear, when you think he's gone, and he comes back to crash on the couch for 'a few weeks' because nobody really wants to see violin players anymore, it'd drive anyone crazy you know? I swear, he should just take that Vegas judging gig for that whatever competition just so he gets another job, but no, he has to be fawned over by my parents, and they've gone back to freaking ignoring me, because it's whatever they want for their precious firstborn, huh? Oh well, if only that touring orchestra didn't lay off some people from their violin section, then he'd still be out of my freaking hair."

    "Yeah, I guess, but what can you do?" Maka replied, pausing for a second. "I still haven't even met your brother."

    "You do not want to," Soul replied, groaning.

    "I'll keep that in mind," Maka said, staring out the window again, as the bus continued on its journey to take the students home.

 

    Opening the door to her mother's house, Maka looked around. Her mother still had not returned home. Maka sighed, and put her keys into the wooden bowl by the door. She walked upstairs to her room, and set down her heavy bag, before massaging her shoulder for a bit. She then sorted the homework assignment notes from her bag and placed them on her desk, before hearing the buzzing of a vibrating phone. A swipe of the hand later, Maka was checking to see the message. It was from her mother, who wrote that she was going to attend a company dinner that evening and will possibly be home at nine o'clock. _Again? She sure has been attending a lot of these, especially for someone who owns her own law firm. But that's my Mama, always hard at work. I'm so glad she's been able to turn herself back around with her career,_ Maka thought, smiling. She changed clothes from her school uniform to a simple T-shirt and shorts before heading down to the kitchen to fix herself a quick reheat of last night's leftovers, from when her mother had attended another dinner, this time with a prospective client, and didn't notify Maka of it, so too much food was cooked. As she put her food in the microwave, Maka heard another buzzing sound from the adjacent counter. Picking up her phone, there was a text from Spirit, asking if she got home safely. Maka replied with a simple "yes", then set the microwave for two minutes. Her phone buzzed again. _Give it a rest,_ Papa, she thought, picking up her phone again. Spirit had just sent back a smiley face emoji. Maka felt no need to reply, instead standing by the microwave as it counted down the time before her food was heated up. As the microwave beeped, Maka turned in the television to watch the evening news as she ate. The evening seemed to go down very smoothly after that, until ten minutes before nine o'clock, where Maka's mother texted again, saying that she might not be back until Maka was already in bed. A frown crept across Maka's face. _Great. I'm sure Mama has her reasons, though,_ Maka thought, turning off her phone for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

    The last name was called, and its owner went over to his side of the gym, signalling that everyone was picked for the dodgeball game. Maka stood on the other side with Crona and Kilik, Soul and Kidd standing across from them with the other team. Kilik led his team in lining up in front of the dividing line. Ms. Nygus, the gym teacher, started setting up a row of dodgeballs on said line.

    "Okay," she said, as she was placing the dodgeballs, "I'm going to go over a few quick rules before you kids get to play. First off: you are not allowed to aim for the face, no exceptions. If you do, you're out. If you get hit, you're out. If you catch the ball, the person who threw it is out. If you move into your opponent's zone, you're out. And if you throw a ball from outside the court and it hits someone, you're out. You can get reinstated if one of your team members catches a ball that bounces off another teammate, or if someone on your team catches a ball. Any questions?"

    "What about crotch hits?" Soul asked.

    "There's no specific rule on that, so I guess it counts the same as if you were hit in the torso or a limb," Ms. Nygus replied. "But I recommend nobody aims for there, please," she added. She blew her whistle, and the two teams rushed to pick up the dodgeballs. Maka took both a ball and a position midway in her line of court. She scanned the other team, and threw her ball. It sailed across the court, nailing another student in the torso, causing her to be eliminated.

    "Nice shot!" Kilik shouted, throwing his dodgeball and barely missing Soul. Several dodgeballs came in from Maka's opponents, and Maka tried to catch one, but she was too short to reach it, and she did not jump as to not risk getting hit in the head. Martyrdom was not her objective. This was war. One of the dodgeballs from the onslaught nearly hit Kilik, but he was able to move out of the way, and the ball instead bounced once off the ground and hit the bleachers, ricocheting into another teammate. He took to the bleachers. Maka picked up a dead ball from the onslaught, and threw it straight at Kidd, who tried to catch it, but missed. Instead, the kid behind him got nailed in the knee. A majority of the balls were still with Maka's team, and she and Kilik teamed up to take advantage of this, making a two-person onslaught that managed to eliminate three people from the game. The two teens gave each other a nod to their teamwork, just as a ball sailed right between their heads, causing them both to jump back, Maka almost tripping over a dead ball. She regained herself, just as the last ball from their team was thrown by Crona, who missed their target, and the ball made a loud thump against the wall, causing its thrower to jump back in surprise. Soul snickered a bit at this, and threw a ball back at Maka's team. It embarrassingly fell short of the goal line, and Soul silently chastised himself for picking a position so far in the back. Kidd threw a low ball which nearly eliminated Maka, had she not jumped over it. Now out of dodgeballs, Maka's team soon felt the crushing realization of being sitting ducks, as the other team made another onslaught, causing the crimson rain of school dodgeballs to fall above the heads of half a gym class' worth of private school freshmen. Maka and Kilik successfully braved the onslaught of dodgeballs, but another on their team was not so lucky. A stray ball bounced off a wall, hitting Crona square in the side of their hip. They stumbled a bit, and seemed to contently accept elimination from the game. Crona took to the bleachers, and ran a hand across their hip, wincing.

    "Now you're going to get it," Maka grumbled, picking up the ball that had hit Crona, and throwing it into the other team, hitting Soul in the leg. _I messed up,_ Maka thought. _There's no way he could have been..._

    "Pretty good eye for revenge, Maka," Soul said. "I think, I mean there were so many and... oh God, it stings," he added, walking off to the bleachers. He gave Kidd a wistful look of hope, but Kidd immediately became a victim of Kilik's dodgeball rain, causing Soul to groan loudly.

    Maka caught a ball from the other team, and Ms. Nygus signaled the first member of Maka's team who was hit to return to the game. Maka threw the ball back, and a person from Soul's team caught it. Maka resigned to the bleachers, and watched as the rest of the game went on.

    "That was intense," she said. "Crona, is your hip okay?" Maka asked, noticing Crona was still rubbing the hit spot.

    "I'll be fine," Crona replied. "Do dodgeballs usually leave a mark?"

    "If thrown hard enough, I'm pretty sure they can," Maka replied, noticing someone from her team get hit, and Kilik catching the ball as it bounced off.

    "Crona, you're back up!" Ms. Nygus called. Crona sighed, and got up from the bleachers. Maka watched as Crona was able to only get one person eliminated before getting hit in the torso. This set of plays took less than a minute. _At least they took someone out,_ Maka thought, smiling a bit. Crona returned to the bleachers, clutching their chest.

    "Are you hurt?" Maka asked.

    "I'm fine," Crona replied, sitting down next to Maka. "Just a little shaken."

    "Just breathe, the stinging will stop, trust me," Maka said. "This exact thing happened to me in fourth grade," she added, as another player from her team caught a ball.

    "Maka, you're back in!" Kilik shouted. Maka reassured Crona again, and got up from the bleachers. _They must've never played dodgeball before_.

    Maka and Kilik ended up the final two players on their team, versus someone neither of them knew very well and a reinstated Kidd. The "no lines" rule had been given, and with the boundaries erased, the final four became chaos. The first casualty was the nobody, who Maka hit in the left shoulder. Kidd took one dodgeball ball in each hand, and stood dead center in what was originally his side. What is he doing? Maka thought. Kidd threw his dodgeballs, before taking one straight to the exact center of his body, thrown by Kilik. Kidd went down on his knees, as the dodgeballs he threw bounced off the gym floor, missing their targets, as Ms. Nygus blew her whistle, signifying the end of the game.

    "The left team wins!" Ms. Nygus neutrally exclaimed, as the bell rang. "Right on time, too," she added.

 

    After her post-gym shower, Maka, with a towel around her, opened her gym locker to get out her uniform. Crona opened up the corresponding locker on the other side and pulled out a large, opaque gray sheet.

    "Maka, could you keep your locker open for a second?" they asked, still in their gym clothes, which weren't as sweaty, due to them not spending as much time playing. _Soap dodger,_ Maka thought.

    "As always," Maka replied, as Crona fixed one end of the sheet in Maka's locker door, before fixing up the other end in their own door. Maka closed her locker door on the sheet corner, keeping it in place, and Crona did the same on their side, creating a makeshift curtain.

    "Thanks," Crona said, slipping under the curtain.

    "Again?" the girl Maka took out in the beginning groaned. "How come you never change in the open with the rest of us?" she asked Crona.

    "I'm not really comfortable with that," Crona replied. The other girl scoffed, and muttered something about how it must be an excuse, while Maka just turned away from her and began to change into her uniform. Once she was done, she stood by the edge of the curtain waiting for Crona to finish putting on their uniform so they could head off to club together. Crona soon emerged from the curtain, taking down their end of it. They finished tying their ribbon tie, before folding the sheet back up, as Maka picked up her gym bag.

    "Ready?" Maka asked.

    "Mhm," Crona replied, following their friend closely as the two made their way to the choir room.

 

    Once they made it to the choir room, they were greeted with the unusual sight of Blair, the cheerleading coach, in her usual outfit of a low-cut top, shorts as short as administration would let her wear, and a purple cat-ear headband, matching her similarly dyed hair. Spirit then entered the room.

    "Thank goodness, everyone's here," he said. "Wait, where's Ragnarok?"

    "Out sick," Crona replied, taking the seat next to Maka. "Thank goodness," they whispered to her. Maka gave a nod of approval.

    "Why's Coach Blair here?" Jackie asked.

    "Glad you asked," Blair replied in her trademark singsong voice. "We're going to do measurements for your guys' costumes!"

    "Time to prove it once and for all..." Patty ominously muttered.

    "Okay, girls line up with me, boys with Mr. Albarn," Blair said. Crona almost raised their hand to interject, but put it down. They got in line behind Kim, putting them in third. Maka went behind Crona, as Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters queued behind her, the Thompsons in youngest-to-oldest order. Jackie was up first, with Kim behind her. Maka looked around and hoped Blair wasn't the type to announce measurements loudly. With the exception of Crona, everyone in her line was bustier, and Maka preferred that not to be pointed out.

    "Kim, Jackie, Patty, I already have you three's measurements for your cheer uniforms," Blair said. "And Liz, have you grown significantly since last year?" she asked, as Spirit started measuring Kilik.

    "No," Liz replied. "Patty, we should go practice," she added.

    "Then I've still got yours, which is great, because now I only have three girls to measure!" Blair beamed.

    "You mean two girls, I'm agender," Crona corrected.

    "Really?" Blair asked, looking intrigued. "So was my roommate in college," she added. "They were really sweet and kind, and one of the best roommates I could've asked for."

    Blair got out her measuring tape, and paused a second to see if anyone had any questions about her roommate before continuing with her measurements.

    "Okay, can you all remove your blazers and sweater vests?" Spirit asked. "The measurements need to be more accurate to your forms," he added. Maka slipped off her sweater vest with no difficulty. _Huh, my shirt's become a bit see-through. This isn't good, I must've not dried myself off all the way after gym. At least I'm wearing a bra and the see-through part's only on my shoulders and arms. Thank goodness for that towel._

    "Oh no, a bra strap," Tsubaki joked. "Looks like the boys aren't gonna get any practice done," she added, slipping her blazer off. Maka held back a giggle, as Ox started spouting off on some tangent vaguely related to Tsubaki's remark. Maka rolled her eyes, and turned forward, back at Crona, who was awkwardly holding their blazer.

    "You three can set those on chairs, and take your time, since it's only you in my line," Blair said, noticing Crona.

    "I can come over there if you like!" Hiro exclaimed. "I mean, who wouldn't want to get measured by a hot girl like you?"

    "Just stay in our line, please," Harvar replied. Hiro just shot him a sly grin, as the three in Blair's line came back to their places. Blair looked over at Crona, and started measuring the length of their legs. She recorded the measurement on her clipboard, before going to their waistline. Crona was just standing there uncomfortably, not used to the situation. Blair raised an eyebrow, before recording Crona's waist measurement on the clipboard. Blair moved on to measuring their hips. She looked at the measured number, and her eyes widened in surprise.

    "Huh, it won't go tighter?" Blair asked, trying to tighten the measuring tape.

    "Is there something wrong?" Crona asked in return, surprised.

    "Nothing, it's just..." Blair began to reply. "Not having your shirt tucked in really hid how much your hips stuck out," she added.

    "I... uh," Crona started, becoming embarrassed.

    "Wait, what?" Maka muttered. _Well, remembering Ms. Gorgon and the one photo I saw of her older sister, it seems to run in the family, so I'm not surprised._

    Blair recorded the number onto her clipboard, before running her measuring tape down the center of Crona's back. They flinched a bit.

    "You're going to have to hold still for this, I still have to do your bust measurement after this, and then you're done, okay?" Blair asked.

    "Okay," Crona replied. _They look a bit uneasy about this,_ Maka thought. Blair recorded Crona's back length on her clipboard, and then walked around in front of them.

    "Can you move your arms up to a ninety-degree angle?" Blair asked.

    "Crona, that's an eighty-three degree angle," Kidd said, after just a glance over. Ox started chattering with Kidd about the younger boy possibly joining Mathletes next year when he became eligible, as Blair wrapped the measuring tape around Crona's chest. She raised her eyebrow in suspicion, but Maka couldn't tell why.

    "Say, for another anecdote about my roommate," Blair said at a much lower volume, still holding the measuring tape steady. "They used to bind their chest with bandages because binders were expensive, and they still had both tuition and student loans to pay, even though they knew it was bad for them," she added. "So some of the others in my dorm and I chipped in and bought them a proper binder so they didn't have to use bandages anymore."

    "What was the point of that story?" Crona asked. "Seems a bit too personal to just blurt out like that."

    "Oh, was it? Sorry," Blair replied. "Well, I've got all your measurements, so you're free to go!" Blair chirped. Crona walked off back to the chairs and slipped their blazer back on, before slumping down a bit, not joining the girls in their choreography practice. Maka looked back over at Blair, who had just finished measuring her legs. Blair nodded, putting the number down on her clipboard. She measured Maka's waist, recording that number as well, before moving on to take the rest of Maka’s measurements.

    "Thanks, Maka, you're good to go," Blair said, giving Maka a wink. Maka didn't go straight to the chairs, but instead looped around Blair, glancing down at the clipboard. A certain set of numbers caught her eye. Wow, she thought. _I'm sure she calculated that ratio right, but..._ Maka looked over at Crona, as Blair began to measure Tsubaki's legs. _That doesn't make any sense,_ Maka thought, walking over to Crona.

    "Care to join me in practice?" she asked, extending a hand to Crona. Crona looked a bit flustered, but took Maka's hand.

    "Sure," they replied. Maka turned over to the other girls (sans Tsubaki), who were going over some of their choreography for "A Boy Like That", a song that required little background intervention, but Maka enjoyed hearing Liz do her part. She hoped to be as amazing as her someday.

    "Okay, I guess we should take it from the top with you two here now?" Liz asked.

    "You don't have to, we can jump in," Maka replied. "Where are you guys at?"

    "We're just past Patty's first part in her verse," Jackie said, as Maka and Crona took their places. As she practiced, Maka felt a tad bit of worry, glancing over at Crona. _They were so uneasy…_

    "Maka, save some space!" Tsubaki called out, putting her blazer back on as she ran into the formation.

    "Anything different you three notice about your measurements this time?" Kim asked, just to strike up conversation.

    "Blair never showed us her clipboard," Tsubaki replied. "But Maka, you did catch a glance, didn't you?"

    "Yeah," Maka answered. "My legs are longer than last year," she added, noticing Blair show the clipboard to Spirit, who was currently measuring Soul.

    "That's pretty... odd," he said, as Soul tried to glance down at the clipboard. Spirit gave Soul a "you better not look at that" look. "Crona, could you come here a second?" he asked. Crona walked over to him, and Blair took the helm for measuring the rest of the boys. Hiro perked up a bit at this.

    "What do you think that's all about?" Patty asked. "I mean, it's measurements, how can the person being measured lie about it?"

    "It's probably none of our business," Jackie replied, as Maka led most of the girls in making a spinning circle around Patty. With turns kept in line, Jackie was right behind her. The circle spun out, and the girls went off to their line behind the Thompsons.

    "Okay, so with the rest just Patty playing off of Liz," Kim started. "I say when Crona comes back over here, we see if they’re okay."

    The group consensus was in agreement to Kim, so Maka glanced back over at Crona and Spirit to see if anything was going on. The two were off in another corner of the hallway, and their voices were low. _Judging by body language,_ _Papa's just asking a question, and for some reason, Crona seems a bit off. Oh, they're walking back over here._

    "What happened?" Kim asked, as Liz and Patty walked over.

    "There was just something with my measurements," Crona replied, with a slight look of discomfort. "Some stuff wasn't adding up to them, I guess," they replied, folding their arms over their chest.

    "Well, puberty's different for everyone," Tsubaki added. "You shouldn't worry too much," she added. "I'm sure your mother would tell you if there was anything wrong with you, since she's a nurse after all."

    "Wait, Coach Blair seemed to be saying something to you when she was measuring your chest," Patty said. Crona went silent.

    "That's none of your business," they said.

    "Patty, don't you have to practice?" Maka asked, forcing a smile.

    "We're moving to the auditorium after the boys are done, anyway, just have to wait for Harvar," Patty replied. "Sooo..."

    "I," Crona started. "Tsubaki's right, it's just a bit different for me," they said, moving one of their arms over to their hip, and glancing there.

    "Oh, the classic 'part of body ends up weirdly proportioned compared to the rest when you're just starting high school' thing?" Patty asked. "I've been there," she added, gesturing to her chest. "These puppies came in at eleven, got this big in freshman year. Hips are only starting to even out. Puberty's a mess."

    "Amen to that," Liz replied. Crona nodded. "At least you're only partially a late bloomer," Liz added, before glancing over towards Maka.

    "Unlike me, I get it," Maka replied. "I'm only fourteen, I could hit another growth spurt at any time," she added defensively.

    "Okay, we're moving to the auditorium!" Spirit called out. "Coach Blair's gonna use these measurements to approximate the sizing for our costumes," he added. _Is that not obvious?_ Maka thought.

    As everyone else started pouring out of the choir room, Maka felt a pale and bony-fingered hand grab her arm. She looked over to see an innocent face that didn't match the hand at all, surrounded by short, fluffy pink hair.

    "What is it, Crona?" Maka asked.

    "I was kinda scared during the measurement session," Crona replied, keeping their voice low. "You heard Coach Blairs anecdote, right?"

    "The one about the bandages?" Maka asked.

    "Yes," Crona replied. "I can't help it, I wanted a binder but there isn't a single store in town that sells proper ones, and my mother won't let me buy anything online. Or even let me on the computer in the first place."

    "She can't ban me," Maka said, placing a hand on Crona's left shoulder.

    "Wha... you don't have to do that, Maka," Crona replied.

    "I want what's the best for my friends, of course I will," Maka beamed. Crona blushed slightly, giving Maka a slight smile.

 

     After the meeting finished up, Tsubaki and Liz started chatting about the upcoming Fall Formal, an event Maka was not going to attend. She did not care to join the conversation, her mind drifting elsewhere. _Crona always seems so surprised when we show them kindness, I wonder why? Maybe they were just an outcast all their life and just not used to friends besides maybe Ragnarok? No, he doesn't really count, does he?_

    "So Maka, you going to the formal?" Liz asked, interrupting Maka's thoughts.

    "Not really," Maka replied. "Besides, it's right after the competition, and I need some downtime to focus on my studies."

    "Has anybody asked you?" Tsubaki asked, not meaning any offense.

    "That's beside the point," Maka replied. "Regardless, I'm not really a fan of school dances."

    "High school ones are different from middle school ones," Patty said, trying to persuade Maka.

    "Yeah, you're more likely to see someone get grinded on," Liz added.

    "Ugh," Maka groaned. That dissuaded her further.

    "I've been asked by three different guys," Kim stated. "Not including Ox, who asked me twelve times on school property alone in just the last two weeks," she added. "But to be fair, that was when the flyer for the event was first put up."

    Tsubaki gave Kim a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, as Ox walked up to the girls. Maka knew this was going to spell either awkwardness or trouble. Most likely the former.

    "Hey Kim-"

    "No," Kim replied.

    "I was just going to ask if you've seen my lyric sheet," Ox said.

    "Still no," Kim replied. "And you're just doing backup, you should've memorized your lyrics by now."

    "But I have Mathletes," Ox whined.

    "I have cheer, and I'm in a lead role, and I've already memorized all my lyrics," Kim said, handing Ox her sheet. "This'll cost you 25 bucks an hour to rent."

    Ox handed Kim the money upfront, and flipped through the sheet. "There's nothing for Grease Lightning," he said. "That's the only one I need help with."

    "Oh right, I'm not in that one," Kim replied. Ox handed her the lyric sheet back.

    "Thanks anyway," he said.

    "You're welcome?" Kim asked, confused.

    "Hey, you know, about the Fall For-"

    "No, Ox," Kim replied. "This marks the thirteenth time you've asked me," she added, turning away from him. "Think about that for a second."

    Ox was called by a teacher for something after that, and left. _Hey, he didn't ask her for the money back,_ Maka thought, noticing how Kim grinned with her $25.

    "Anyone like that for any of you?" Kim asked. "You know, incessant askers?"

    "No, but then again, I did say I was going with Liz straight away," Tsubaki replied, before Hiro ran back from some lockers with a single rose.

    "Kim, this is for you if you'll go to the Fall Formal with me," Hiro said, panting.

    "Bribe me with actual cash and I might consider," Kim scoffed, walking off with Jackie. Hiro then pointed the rose in Tsubaki's direction. "Sooo..."

    "Are you asking me as a backup?" Tsubaki asked. "I have a girlfriend."

    "One of you please go to the formal with me," Hiro begged. The girls looked amongst each other.

    "I gotta get to the buses," Maka said, as Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty nodded along with her.

    "I'll make sure my corsage matches and everything," Hiro pleaded. The girls ignored him, and started to make their way to the parking lot. _I don't even care about the formal right now, I've got another party to plan._


	6. Chapter 6

    Maka slipped her last invitation into the odor vents of Liz's locker. It was a week and a half before Halloween, and she wanted to make sure everyone had enough time to RSVP before her party.

    "Okay, that's everyone from club," she said to Soul, who was her delivery accomplice.

    "You didn't invite Ragnarok," Soul reminded her.

    "Considering he seems to hate my guts for me looking out for his cousin..." Maka replied. "Speaking of whom, I have to get something out of my locker before lunch hour ends. Crona’s probably out of their meeting with Miss Mjolnir by now."

    "Maka, we've been going around the locker halls for the past ten minutes," Soul groaned. "Why not get it when we began?"

    "Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise," Maka replied, walking off. Soul began to follow behind her.

    "Wait, what is it?" he asked, as Maka made her way out of the seniors' lockers and towards the freshmen's.

    "A present," Maka replied. Soul stopped for a bit.

    "Crap, is it Crona's birthday or something?" Soul asked. "Can I tag my name on the gift?"

    "Nope," Maka replied. Soul made a confused noise. "It's not their birthday, as far as I know," Maka added. The two passed by the juniors' locker hall, then by the sophomores', where Black☆Star was standing.

    "I'm going!" he shouted, waving an invitation in the air.

    "Glad to hear it!" Maka gleefully replied, as she and Soul made their way back to the freshman locker hall. Maka walked up to her locker, and twisted the combination. There was a click, and she opened the locker door, pulling out a wrapped box with a ribbon, about the size of those boxes that T-shirts come in when bought online, and before Soul could make a comment on it, there was a bloodcurdling scream coming from a different hall. Maka whipped her head around in its direction.

    "What was that?" Soul asked.

    "Sounded like Crona," Maka replied. "Come on!" she called out, dashing off, box in hand. She saw Black☆Star was already going around the corner of the hall. Soul walked behind the two of them at a leisurely pace. At the end of the main hall, by one of the school's trophy cases, was a tall, muscular male student, face obscured by what was truly a terrifying Halloween mask, and a visibly shaken Crona. The muscular student took off the mask, to reveal his identity as (unsurprisingly) Ragnarok, and then he just started laughing.

    "Oh, it was just a prank," Soul said, shrugging it off.

    "With that scream, I thought someone was being tortured," Black☆Star added, as Maka scowled at Ragnarok.

    "Crona, you should've seen the look on your face," Ragnarok said. "Definitely worth scouring every Halloween store in town for the perfect mask," he added.

    "Do you even have a life?" Maka asked. "How long were you even waiting, I didn't see you at lunch," she added, as Crona took a deep breath and started to regain their calm.

    "None of your business, Maka Albarn," Ragnarok replied, putting the mask back on. _What's with him still calling me by my full name?_ Maka thought, as he passed by her, Soul, and Black☆Star. He jumped out at them, causing Soul to gasp and Maka's eyes to widen a bit. Black☆Star just gave a cocky grin.

    "You don't scare me," he said, as Ragnarok continued to leave. All Black☆Star was then met with was a swiftly raised middle finger, by the man who had already become his least favorite senior. Maka walked right over to Crona.

    "Are you okay?" she asked.

    "Yeah, just a bit shaken, that's all," Crona replied. They looked down at the box. "What's that?" they asked. Maka held out the box.

    "It's for you," she said. Crona looked at the box for a bit, before cautiously accepting it. "You can open it now if you'd like," Maka said. Crona started carefully removing the ribbon. It then fluttered to the floor, as they started scanning the wrapping paper for an edge.

    "Just dig into it," Black☆Star said. "It's more fun that way," he added, making tearing motions with his hands.

    "Fun?" Crona asked, attempting to use their fingernail to pick off the tape. "I don't really want to make too much of a mess," they added, as the taped part came off. Crona then neatly removed the wrapping paper to reveal a white box.

    "Wow, a box," Soul said. "Treasure it forever," he added, as Maka glared at him. Crona just opened the box to reveal a light gray, sports bra-like article of clothing. They held it up, enough for the other three to see.

    "You got them a sports bra?" Soul asked, surprised at something like that being given at school. "Crona, don't hold that up in the halls," he added, walking back off towards his locker. Crona looked at their gift again, more closely this time.

    "Is this a..." they started, looking back at Maka. "You actually did buy one," they added, surprised.

    "Hey, if you're gonna bind, you should be doing it properly," Maka replied. "I don't want you to be in pain," she added.

    "Just a tip, though," Black☆Star interjected. "If you're busty without one of those, you will need a longer amount of time to break that thing in, and even then it won't be the most comfortable thing ever in that case, but it sure beats bandages," he added. "Personal experience."

    "So it's still going to be uncomfortable?" Crona asked.

    "Yeah, a bit, unless you're really small," Black☆Star replied. "Then it'll probably just feel like a really intense sports bra or something, I don't know."

    "Ah, okay," they replied. "Thanks for getting me this, Maka," they added. _There's that smile again,_ Maka thought, unable to help herself from smiling back.

 

      A week and a half later, Maka was in her room at her father's house, undoing the braids she had set in her hair since the night before. Her sandy blonde hair cascaded to her shoulders in waves, not its usual straightness. She pinned a button that read 'KNOPE 2012' to the front of her blazer. With those final touches to her costume, she was ready for the Halloween party downstairs. She walked down to see Spirit putting up the last of the streamers. Maka looked around at the rest of the decorations. She adjusted the position of a fake black cat, before Spirit got down from the ladder. _It kind of looks like Coach Blair._

    "Maka, you look amazing!" Spirit beamed.

    "Thanks, Papa," Maka replied. "Now go hurry and put on your costume before the guests arrive," she added.

    "It's just a sheet ghost, though," Spirit argued. The doorbell rang.

    "I'll answer it, just go!" Maka exclaimed, racewalking off to the door. She opened the door to reveal Soul, dressed as the Joker, in full makeup.

    "Why don't I put a smile on that face?" he asked, in a poor imitation.

    "Is that even the line he said in the movie?" Maka asked in return.

    "Check your binders for it then, Knope," Soul replied, noticing Maka's button. "And 2012 was years ago."

    "It's for recognizability purposes," Maka argued. "Because without it, I'm just a blonde woman in a pantsuit," she added, gesturing for Soul to come in. He looked around, to see there were no other guests yet. Maka turned down the dimmer switch.

    "Am I the first one here?" Soul asked, eyes still darting about the room.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. "The others'll probably get here in a few."

    "Okay, cool," Soul said. "Do you guys have a fog machine?"

    "Yeah, it's in the garage," Maka replied. "Papa's gonna fire it up when the party's in full steam."

    "And speak of the devil," Soul added, as Spirit came down the stairs in full sheet ghost garb.

    "Or the spirit," Maka muttered, as her father made cheesy ghost noises.

 

    Once the party went into full swing, Maka walked down into a storage room, and pulled out a small karaoke machine with two wireless microphones and several CDs. Maka carried the whole thing back up to the living room, and began to set it all up. While she was doing this, she felt something tap the back of her head and linger there.

    "Stop it right there," a high-pitched yet harsh voice said. Maka froze up for a second. "Turn around," a deeper voice added. Maka swallowed air, before turning around at the pace of molasses, her button catching a slight glint of the dim light. She looked up a bit to see Liz and Patty, dressed as what she assumed were street criminals. Patty had a toy gun to Maka's forehead.

    "Nice costumes," Maka said, glancing up at Liz's lips, between them what looked to be an unlit cigarette. "Wait, what the hell? Have you turned eighteen yet?"

    "Oh, you wondering about this?" Liz asked in return, pulling the 'cigarette' from her mouth. "It's a lollipop," she answered, showing Maka the red, sugary candy portion. "Hey, Kidd, come look at Maka's costume!"

    Kidd, who must have arrived with the Thompsons, walked over, in a gray, long-sleeved button-down that had a piece of notebook paper taped to it, reading "Idaho".

    "Oh my God," Maka said. "That's genius."

    "Yeah, I forgot the party was today and didn't have time to shop," Kidd replied. "And thank you," Kidd replied. "Oh, is the karaoke machine up and ready?"

    "Yeah, help yourselves," Maka replied, as Hiro and Ox walked over to the punch bowl.

    "Ragnarok's also here," Soul groaned. Maka's eye twitched a bit. _Ragnarok? The one person I absolutely don't want here? I have got to find Papa._ She stormed off, calling out for her father. It took longer than expected, due to there being a lot of life-size hanging ghost decorations which resembled Spirit's costume. When she passed by, he jumped out at her.

    "Did I scare you?" Spirit asked.

    "No, but please don't do that to Crona when they show up," Maka replied. "Also, why did you invite Ragnarok? I would've thought he was one of those guys you wouldn't want near your daughter."

    "I know you two aren't the best of friends, maybe not even friends at all, but he seems like the type who'd jump out of the bushes to scare trick-or-treaters and take their candy, or TP houses, or possibly egg them. Both the houses and trick-or-treaters," Spirit replied. "I'm just keeping him off the streets with this, you don't have to interact with him."

    "Don't worry, I won't," Maka said, as she heard a familiar cacophonous voice arguing with Ox. Maka looked over her shoulder to see Ragnarok dressed as some sort of Viking, complaining about how his costume was far more accurate to the original Thor mythos. Okay, maybe he's not a Viking, but Thor, Maka thought. And not the Avenger. Ragnarok then yelled something about Marvel's Thor being a cheap imitation of the real thing, which caused Jackie to butt in. I really don't want to engage Ragnarok, Maka thought, as the beginning instrumental for 'Don't Stop Believing' started playing from the karaoke machine. Soul passed Maka a mic.

    "You're up here, we're doing this," he said.

    "Bring it on," Maka replied, as Soul started off-key belting out the first verse. And this is why you only have background parts, Maka thought. Poor guy. Midway through the song, Harvar, who was wearing literally the exact same vampire costume as Jackie, right down to the same brand of plastic fangs, started to argue with her over who was going to go home and change, wrecking Soul's concentration on the second chorus. Luckily for him, Maka picked right up and saved their karaoke rendition. Right at the end, the doorbell rang, and Soul's phone started going off a bunch.

    "He just said 'I'm here' and he's now texting me emojis," Soul stated. Maka instantly knew this 'he' was Black☆Star. "Like a single emoji per text. There's like 3 of them a second. I can't even send a message telling him to stop," Soul added, as Maka went over to the door to see Tsubaki dressed as a zombie bride, and Black☆Star wearing maroon pants, a hideous black and mustard-colored jacket, and a rubber shark mask painted white.

    "Soul, you gotta see this!" Maka shouted. "Welcome to the party, guys," she added, turning back to Tsubaki and Black☆Star.

    "I'm glad to be here," Tsubaki replied, walking in. "Whoa, I love the decorations," she said, as Soul walked up.

    "Black☆Star, what the hell?" he asked. "I haven't worn that outfit since towards the end of eighth grade, after which I lost... it..." he added. "Wait, is that actually..."

    "Authenticity," Black☆Star replied. "Want to see me do an impression of you?" he asked. Maka nodded excitedly, while Soul shook his head rapidly and nervously. "Tsubaki, you're the deciding vote," Black☆Star said.

    "Sure, why not?" she asked.

    "An unexpected betrayal!" Soul wailed, as Black☆Star ran towards the karaoke machine, taking one of the microphones. Maka could sense the fear taking over Soul. _I wonder if Black_ _☆_ _Star knows something I don't?_

    "I'm Soul, isn't it such a cool day to be here?" Black☆Star asked, trying and failing to imitate Soul's deep voice. _It appears he's doing Soul, circa seventh grade,_ Maka thought, raising an eyebrow. This'll be good.

    "I listen to jazz music and spike up my hair to look 'edgy'," Black☆Star said, as Soul covered his face, which was already disguised by a lot of Joker makeup anyway. "I wanna do everything in a 'cool' fashion, and my parents must only love my brother because he's Wes," Black☆Star added. "Now for Soul, circa seventh grade, smack in the middle of his month-long scene phase..."

    "NOOOOOOOO!" Soul shouted, running up to try and physically tackle over Black☆Star. "We don't talk about that!"

    Maka was holding back laughter. And it showed. That scene phase was still undoubtedly one of the most horrifying things she had ever seen, but she still felt sympathy for how it coincided with the month the school did yearbook photos. Black☆Star took off his mask, and a small photo fell out. He picked it up.

    "Okay, everyone, gather round to see..." Black☆Star started, before Soul swiped the photo from Black☆Star's hand and shoved it into his mouth. "What?" Black☆Star asked. Soul tried to eat the photo, but ended up spitting it out before he could finish chewing it. He had successfully created a spitty wad of seventh grade scene phase photo, that Black☆Star became unwilling to touch.

    "What is wrong with you?" he asked Soul. "Past me isn't the me I am now, but I definitely wouldn't try to eat a copy of my yearbook photo."

    "I am beginning to think that myself, photos taste disgusting," Soul replied. "Why did my damn scene phase have to be immortalized like that?" he added, as Patty, Kim, and Ox were chanting "scene phase" over and over.

    "Maka, I'm going to flush this down your toilet. I'll pay for the plumber if it clogs," Soul said, as Black☆Star put his mask back on.

    "Oookay," Maka replied, hearing the soft whir of the fog machine starting up. In no time, the machine did its work, and a light layer of fog filled the bottom of the room.The doorbell rang, and Spirit whooshed over to answer it. Maka stood by the punch table, as Black☆Star decided he'd fire up the karaoke machine. Maka poured some of the punch into a small glass, and took a sip of its fruity, sweet yet still slightly sour contents. Due to the dim light, the punch appeared black, when it was really dark purple, and Maka could not figure what fruit it was meant to taste like, so she assumed a blend. She took another sip. _What the hell kind of fruit even is this?_ she thought, as Spirit let in Medusa, dressed as a witch, her sleeveless dress showing off two snake tattoos coiling around her arms. Crona followed at her heels. Maka couldn't tell at first how Crona was dressed due to the low light and fog, but she did notice their long, flowing blue skirt, matching halter top, and that their hair had been done up with bright blue hair chalk the color of a lapis lazuli. Crona noticed Maka from across the room, and immediately walked over. Up close, Maka noticed that Crona's hair chalk job was obviously hastily self-done, with slight pink streaks still popping up at random places, but she decided not to comment on that.

    "It's nice to see you!" Maka exclaimed. "You look adorable," she added.

    "Really, you think so?" Crona asked. "Even though I didn't do the body paint??"

    "I know so," Maka replied. "You still look great regardless," she added. "So that's just a long-sleeved shirt you're wearing under that?" Maka asked, noticing what they were wearing under such a short top. Crona nodded, adjusting the ribbon tied to their top.

    "It's still really pretty," Maka said.

    "It's not much, though," Crona replied. They then glanced over Maka's shoulder, fright beginning to take over their face. Maka turned around to see Ragnarok holding a large prop Mjolnir, and it looked like it was made of actual stone, not plastic.

    "So here we've got some blue shit and Hillary Clinton," he said.

    "I'm actually going as Leslie Knope," Maka replied. _And Leslie and Hillary don't even have the same haircuts._

    "Language," Crona muttered, drowned out by Black☆Star aggressively singing "Spooky Scary Skeletons" on karaoke in the background.

    "What did you say?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Nothing," Crona replied, tugging at their sleeve.

    "You sure?" Ragnarok rudely asked, causing Crona to flinch a bit.

    "Ah... um," Crona replied, eyeing the hammer. Maka took this as a perfect opportunity to change the subject.

    "Is that thing real stone?" Maka asked, pointing at Ragnarok's prop Mjolnir.

    "Depends, how do you wish to find out?" Ragnarok asked in return, as Black☆Star finished his song. He saw Ragnarok holding the hammer up in jest, and Maka noticed a look of panic on his face.

    "Crona, Maka, can you two come up here a second?" Black☆Star asked, as Tsubaki stepped up to the machine. "One of you guys can duet with Tsubaki," he added, as Tsubaki waved to them.

    "Why not make it a trio?" Tsubaki asked, as Maka stepped up to the machine with her. Tsubaki scanned through the song library as Crona walked up next to Maka.

    "There's only two, so we have to share a mic," Maka said. Before they possibly could, Maka heard some music playing, not from the karaoke machine. In fact, it sounded like someone was blaring the Imperial March on an iPod without earbuds, with the volume turned up really loud. Maka recognized the tune immediately, and two small children, who she recognized as Kilik's younger twin siblings. Maka didn't know their names, but knew they liked to be called Fire and Thunder, which worked for her. Fire was dressed in a meticulously painted R2-D2 costume, with the droid's dome as a little hat. Thunder was wearing a BB-8 costume of similar caliber, despite the movie not coming out until December of that year. Both their costumes had arm and leg holes, and they were both holding candy buckets filled to the brim with the spoils of a night of trick-or-treating. Kilik walked in soon after dressed as Finn, complete with contacts in place of his glasses. Maka thought it was the cutest thing she had seen at the party since Crona came in. Kilik looked right over at Maka and those who were standing near her, as Soul started coming back down the stairs.

    "Great costumes, guys," Kilik said.

    "Yours too," Crona replied, as Tsubaki kept fiddling with the song selection, and Medusa and Soul turned a corner to enter the room. Upon seething their mother, Crona's nervousness appeared to heighten.

    "This better be good," Medusa groaned, as some pretty-sounding music started to emanate from the karaoke machine, and Kilik ushered Fire and Thunder with him into the crowd. Tsubaki began singing the first verse of a really tragic song about lost love. Her voice was breathtaking, even went it went off-key on the loud parts, and every time Maka heard it, she wanted to compare it to a chorus of angels rolled into one girl. But right before Maka and Crona could join in, the song was interrupted by the front door being flung open and the arrival of Blair. Blair had dressed up for the party, wearing a cute kitty cheerleader costume that tied together her job as the cheer coach and her love of cats, and was surprisingly tasteful for once.

    "Hello, everybody!" Blair called out, prancing into the part of the room where everyone else was.

    "Just keep going, Tsubaki," Soul groaned.

    "Papa, did you invite faculty members?" Maka asked.

    "Yeah, but most couldn't make it," Spirit replied. "Two of them still haven't RSVP'd, so they might actually show up, I don't know," he added.  

    "Ooh, can I do karaoke next?" Blair asked, noticing the karaoke setup.

    "Actually, after Tsubaki's done, I was going to set up the costume contest," Spirit replied. "Hiro already went off to get the notecards and spooky hats," he added, as Hiro came back holding six hats, a label maker, and a few packs of blank notecards. He labeled the hats with Best Boy's Costume, Best Girl's Costume, Cutest Costume, Funniest  Costume, and Spookiest of the Spooky.

    "Okay everyone, it's time to cast your votes," Spirit called out, after Tsubaki had finished her song. "Please do not put Crona's name in either of the gendered categories, I will not count those votes. I apologize for not having a category for them, it's just there are no other nonbinary kids I know of here, and I don't want there to be a category with an instant winner, because that's not fair." Medusa scoffed at this statement, grumbling something.

    Spirit handed out five notecards each for the twenty guests present.

    "Just a small reminder, it would be best if you didn't vote for yourself, and you're only allowed one vote per category," he added. "Let the voting begin!"

    Maka looked over at her five blank notecards, and got out her pen. She wrote down who she thought deserved each vote, before putting her completed notecards into the respective boxes, and now all that was left was to wait. She sat on the couch between Soul and Crona and chatted a bit with them as her father counted the tally. As soon as he was done, the front door got kicked open, and a tall man with a large facial scar, poorly concealed by makeup, and a Japanese woman wearing a redhead wig burst in, pointing what Maka hoped were fake guns at the group.

   "FEDERAL AGENTS!" the man shouted at a booming volume, causing panic among the crowd.

   "I WANT EVERYONE TO PUT THEIR HANDS IN THE AIR, WE'RE FBI!" the woman shouted as well.

   "I smoked cigarettes once in junior year, so what?" Liz protested. "I already got kicked off of the cheer squad for it, I've been punished!" she added. _The FBI wouldn't investigate that,_ Maka thought, slowly putting her hands up.

   "Are you going to take me away from her? She's all I know!" Crona wailed.

   "How about you guys just bite me, I haven't done anything THAT illegal!" Ragnarok snapped, flipping the possible agents off. Medusa slowly opened the kitchen window and began climbing out, as Spirit turned a corner to get a better look at the two agents. He did a double take.

    "Wait a second..." he said. "Stein? Azusa?" he gasped.

    "You caught us," the male "agent", who was actually Dr. Stein, the most commonly hired substitute teacher and regrettably for Spirit, his best friend, replied. "Fox Mulder, FBI," he added, gesturing to his costume before pulling out a replica badge. The other "agent", dressed as Scully, took off her wig and put her glasses back on, to reveal herself as the trigonometry teacher, Ms. Azusa Yumi.

    "These aren't even real guns," Ms. Yumi added, putting back on her wig, before showing of the orange tip on her toy gun. Dr. Stein had painted over his orange tip for "authenticity purposes".

    "Lady Medusa, you can come back from the window!" Crona called out. "You're safe!" they added. _Wait, what the hell did Ms. Gorgon do to warrant such a fearful reaction from the FBI possibly showing up?_

    "Sorry about that," Medusa replied, returning to the party. "I once downloaded a movie illegally years ago and have this irrational fear it would come back to haunt me," she added, completely deadpan. "And yes, it is enough for me to climb out a window." The look on Crona's face made Maka believe Medusa was lying. As well as the way they were nodding profusely. Almost as if the both of them were hiding something. Maka shrugged it off for now, maybe she'd bring it up when there weren't so many other people around. Spirit cleared his throat.

    "Anyway," he said, "I guess it's time to announce our winners for the costume contest, since everything's fine now," he added. Dr. Stein sighed.

    "Dammit, should've gotten here earlier," he grumbled, as Ms. Yumi looked to see if he had damaged the door.

    "For 'Best Boy's Costume', the winner is... Kilik Rung!" Spirit announced. Kilik walked up, and Spirit gave him a blue ribbon that read "WOW! You're #1!" Kilik looked disappointed.

    "Um, thanks?" he asked. "I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me," he added, facing the crowd. "I did not prepare a speech," he said, stepping back behind Mr. Albarn.

    "For 'Best Girl's Costume', Tsubaki Nakatsukasa!"

    Tsubaki rushed up to claim a blue ribbon with "You go, girl!" written on it in sparkly pink letters. She looked disappointed as well, but it didn't show as much.

    "Thank you very much," she said, bowing. "Now after my wedding, I'm probably going to eat my wife's brain," she joked, causing Patty to crack up with laughter. Tsubaki then stood by Kilik.

    "For 'Cutest Costume', Fire and Thunder Rung!"

    They said nothing, took the ribbon, and stood in front of Kilik.

    "Okay then, 'Funniest Costume' goes to Black☆Star," Spirit said. Black☆Star let out a huge cheer, and Tsubaki started clapping for him. _Well, Guess that's all the categories I could've been eligible for, since Leslie doesn't count for Spookiest of the Spooky in the slightest,_ Maka thought, as Black☆Star stepped up. _I'm happy for him, though._

    "I'd like to thank everyone who voted correctly!" Black☆Star shouted. "As in for the great me, in any category," he added, with pride that could almost be physically felt. "And damn right this costume is funny, I didn't create this amazing Soul getup for nothing!"

    Black☆Star basked in the clapping until it died down, before finally looking at the embroidery on his blue ribbon.

    "Why does this say 'hashtag L-O-L'?" he asked. "Buy better ribbons, Maka's dad," he added, stepping back with the others.

    "I'm going to ignore that and announce our 'Spookiest of the Spooky' winner," Spirit replied. "It was originally Tsubaki, but since she won by a larger margin in 'Best Girl', I've decided to give this award to Soul, who was originally the runner-up for this category," he added.

    Soul walked up to accept his prize, a black ribbon with hastily added Halloween stickers. He scoffed at it, and Spirit got out his phone to take a picture of all the winners. While he was doing that, Maka turned around a bit, over to Crona.

    "If it's any consolation, I voted you for cutest," Maka said, pulling Crona into a hug.

    "I didn't expect myself to win in any of it anyway, but thank you," Crona replied, giving a flustered aside glance towards their mother, before looking back at Maka, and hugging her back.

    "I wouldn't have voted for you if I didn't think you deserved it," Maka said, moving her hand to the middle of Crona's back. It felt warm to the touch even through both layers of their costume. Maka felt her heart start racing for some reason, not being able to pinpoint why. After all, she and Crona hug all the time, why should it start to feel any different?

    "Maka, your hair!" Soul exclaimed. Maka and Crona pulled off from their hug, and looked over at Soul.

    "What are you talking about?" Maka asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Black, maybe blue spot," Soul replied. Maka ran her fingers through a section of her hair, getting some bright blue chalky stuff on her fingers, as well as unintentionally smearing it on more of her hair. _Crona's hair chalk_.

    "I'm so sorry," Crona said. Maka gave them a reassuring look.

    "It's okay, this stuff'll wash out," she replied, as the costume contest winners dispersed, and the party continued on as normal. "So, wanna rejoin the party?" Maka asked.

    "In a bit," Crona sighed. "You go on ahead, I don't want to be the one preventing you from having fun," they added, shirking a bit into their shoulders. Maka gave a concerned look, before deciding Crona must need their space for a bit. Maka slowly got up from the couch and walked back over to the karaoke machine, hijacking Ox's rendition of "Spooky Scary Skeletons", marking the second time someone picked that song.

    "Why did you do that?" Ox asked.

    "Oh come on, it's Halloween, lighten up a little," she replied.

    "Fine, then I'm going to sing something you wouldn't dare hijack," Ox scoffed. Maka raised an eyebrow. _Bring it,_ she thought, as Ox started Fergalicious. _Okay, don't bring it._ Maka walked away. _There is no way I'd be able to sing that song with Papa here. Huh, where'd Crona go off to?_ Before she could inquire this one further, Black☆Star grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the punch bowl.

    "I dare you to drink this," he said, holding up a plastic up of gunky-looking liquid with a gummy worm in it.

    "What is it?' Maka asked, smelling it. It smelled awful.

    "Every soda you guys have out here, mixed with the punch," Black☆Star replied. "I wanna know if this is bad enough to give Ragnarok," he added, as Maka took a sip. Her face contorted into an awful expression of the utmost disgust.

    "I forgot to mention I crushed up some Cheetos and put those in too," Black☆Star said. "Also I added some of the sour cream," he added. "Don't spit it out in that cup, I only made one, and I wasn't planning on your spit as an ingredient, because that's gross." _And this isn't?_

    Maka handed the cup to Black☆Star, and ran straight to the bathroom, feeling sick. She opened the door, thankful it was unlocked, and spit out the unholy mouthful into the toilet. _That is the only time I am grateful that Papa left the seat up,_ she thought, as she felt a hand grab her hair, and hold it back.

    "I think I'm going to be fine now, after spitting it out," Maka said, looking over her shoulder to see a very concerned Crona. "Thanks anyway," Maka added. "Wait, what are you doing in here?"

    "I don't really want to go home, is it okay if I camp out here for a bit?" Crona asked.

    "What?" Maka asked. "You're gonna hide in the bathroom? Why don't you just ask your mother if you can stay a bit longer? Then you get to enjoy the party," she added. Crona let go of Maka's hair, and sat down next to her.

    "Lady Medusa isn't that simple to deal with," they replied. They call their mom Lady Medusa? "Besides, there are a few magazines in here I can use to entertain myself," Crona added, looking over at the magazine holder, thick with dozens of magazines.

    "There are only a few TIME and National Geographics in the front, the rest are Playboys from back when they still had nudity," Maka warned. "And if you don't know what Playboy is, it's best you don't touch it," she added, closing the toilet lid, confident that she wouldn't throw up. "Back to our original subject, why is it that you don't want to go home or talk to your mother?" she asked. Crona was hesitant to reply, grabbing their arm and holding it tightly. They sighed, and scrunched themself up into a ball.

    "I already said she wasn't simple to deal with," Crona replied.

    "Is she strict?" Maka asked. Crona nodded.

    "But she can't be more strict than your mother, right?" they asked.

    "My Mama works late, and is barely home when I'm awake," Maka replied. "And since I have more time at her house, I've practically learned how to take care of myself," she added. "But I know she loves me, deep down, and that the reason she works so hard and so late is to support me, and that she's very proud of my independence."

    "I can't do anything Lady Medusa says is wrong, and she watches over me every moment I'm not in trouble, to make sure I don't get into any," Crona said, in stark contrast to Maka's situation. "She tells people she's just really devoted, a helicopter mom, I'm sure she means well, right?" Crona asked. Maka could tell by the look in their eyes they were doubting their words. "She just doesn't want me to be a bad child," Crona added, their stomach growling. And it was not just a little noise.

    "Did you have dinner before the party?" Maka asked.

    "No," Crona replied. "I shouldn't eat anything here, though," they added. "Lady Medusa wouldn't want me to spoil my appetite."

    "Why exactly do you call her that?" Maka asked. Now she was curious, after hearing it again. "You only refer to her as your mother at school, not calling her by any specific name," she added.

    "What? Oh, um, forget I called her that just now, then," Crona replied, looking a tad bit embarrassed. "Calling her Lady Medusa is just a part of archaic thing from the Gorgon family," they said, hastily trying to explain. "My mother's the only one who tries to keep that tradition alive, the rest of the family switched to letting their children call them names that are more... normal," they added. _That still sounds like something more considered a master-servant thing, not a parent-child one, Maka thought. And it remains weird to me._

    "Oh, that's kind of a relief," Maka replied."Still, if you don't want to go home just yet, you should just tell her. It's not like you're afraid of your own mother, right?" Maka asked, returning yet again off the tangents.

    "I am," Crona replied, walking up to close the bathroom door, not noticing a pair of snakelike golden eyes see them.

    "Just in a 'normal reaction to overly strict authority'-type way?" Maka asked in a not-too-serious tone.

    "Not exactly," Crona replied. "Part of it is she-"

    Before Crona could finish, the door flung open. A panicked Medusa looked upon the two teenagers.

    "Crona, I just remembered I might've left the oven on at home!" Medusa shouted, grabbing Crona's arm. "The house could be on fire, and not to mention my poor little snakes," she added, sounding over-the-top. She leaned in really close to Crona.

    "What were you about to say to her?" Medusa hissed, at a volume Maka could still hear, though she was not aware of this. Crona mumbled something, then Medusa looked over at Maka. "Miss Albarn," Medusa added, no longer sounding panicked. "She's just going through a phase, and don't worry, I still support her true self through all her confusion. This'll pass."

    Maka glared at Medusa, about to correct her.

    "Say your goodbyes quickly, Crona, we have to go home," Medusa said. "If it's still there, that is," she added, regaining her tone of panic.

    "Oh, um, goodbye, Maka," Crona said. "I'll see you at school," they added.

    "Me too," Maka replied. "Bye, text me once you find out if your house is OK!" she added, as Medusa whisked Crona away with her. _What exactly was that all about?_ Maka sighed, and figured that since she was already in the bathroom, she would try to wash out the blue chalk spot in her hair. _I hope that Ms. Gorgon didn't actually leave the oven on, and that even if she did, she and Crona still have a home. But still, what did Crona mean when they said they were scared of their mother? The water in the sink began to turn blue. Perhaps it was just a bit of strict-mom nervousness, coupled with their anxiety,_ Maka thought, hoping for the best-case scenario, though it wasn't entirely a best-case. _It would be really nice if Crona and Ms. Gorgon had a mother-child relationship like Tsubaki and Mrs. Nakatsukasa, but not everyone's going to be the same. But_

 _Ms.Gorgon was taking about a phase, not to mention calling Crona by the wrong pronouns. I guess Ms. Gorgon's not tolerant of Crona's gender._ _Oh my God, what if she's... no, no, don't think that, they're just fine. Right?_

    Maka washed away the last of the hair chalk, and walked up to her room, picking up her cell phone and keeping it with her, just in case Crona would message. She spent the rest of the Halloween party in uncertainty, before finally taking the initiative and texting Crona herself.

   

    Within a few minutes they replied:

    "The house is fine. Please, forget I said anything."


	7. Chapter 7

   For the next few weeks after Halloween, it was business as usual for Spartoi and its members. Well, not entirely. Maka was still a bit disturbed by some of the contents from her conversation with Crona on Halloween, and she was only getting more worried for her lanky pink-haired friend. One day after a class they didn't share, on a day were Spartoi did not have practice in session,, she decided to search and see if Crona was still at school, hoping she could figure out what was wrong. Since Medusa was required to stay during the afterschool period incase there was an injury during an unfortunate student's club activities, Crona usually just roamed the halls on those days. Maka first checked the freshman locker halls, but there was no sign of them. She peeked into the odor vents of Crona's locker just incase Ragnarok had locked them inside.

    "Well, there's no signs of life in here," Maka muttered to herself. _They’re probably with Miss Mjolnir again. Maybe I should try again next Tuesday, or just text them,_ she thought. _I want to know if I can help, especially if that wasn't the only reason, I don't want them to be living in fear of their own mother. Nobody deserves to live like that._ Her phone went off, startling her. _It's just Black_ _☆_ _Star letting me know he's on his way to the bus,_ she thought.

    "Be there in a few," she texted back. She heard a loud slam out in the distance, and the unfortunately familiar sound of Ragnarok yelling, though it started to sound hoarser and scratchier. _I think I've found Crona,_ Maka thought, sighing with annoyance.

    "Why are you hitting yourself?" Ragnarok yelled from the distance, laughing. "Come on, why are you hitting yourself?"

    Maka started to fill with rage, dashing down to the seniors' locker halls to find Ragnarok, still in his football uniform and smelling like sweat, bracing Crona against the lockers by one of their wrists, using the other arm to hit them in the face repeatedly.

    "Get off them," Maka snapped. Ragnarok just ignored her, and continued to mess with Crona.

    "Are you so pathetic that you're a beacon to this nerd girl who must think you're so weak and helpless she has to save you from your own family?" he teased, slamming Crona's wrist against the locker. "See, look at this, you're not hurting, right?"

    "Actually, that did..." Crona began.

    "Shut up! It was a rhetorical question!" Ragnarok yelled.

    "Didn't know you were smart enough to use such a big word," Maka added, figuring now was no longer the time to ask Crona about Halloween.

    "You're still here?" Ragnarok asked, as Crona tried to slip out of his grasp. "Oh, no you don't," Ragnarok added. Crona grumbled a bit.

    "Worth a shot," they muttered. There was another slam, as Ragnarok didn't take kindly to that remark. Maka started rummaging around in her bag for a book of decent enough size, wishing she had brought "The Complete Works of Shakespeare", but instead, the thickest thing she could find was a math textbook. She picked up the book, and snuck behind Ragnarok while he kept yelling, his words drowning out her footsteps She dodged an elbow, but still attempted her strike regardless. In a surprisingly quick moment of reflexes, Ragnarok flung Crona behind him, right where they ended up getting hit by Maka's book.

    "You're not gonna pull that one on me again, Maka Albarn," Ragnarok said, pushing Crona down with one arm before beginning to walk off. Maka raised her book back up.

    "Just leave him, I don't want you to end up getting hurt," Crona sighed, looking up at Maka. Maka knelt down by Crona.

    "Are you okay?" she asked, brushing their bangs out of their eyes.

    "I'll be fine," Crona replied, rubbing the spot their head was hurt. "It's already stopped hurting."

    "Good," Maka said. Now's the time to ask them, she thought, as Crona got up from the floor. Maka stood up next to them, noticing a bit of blood oozing from their lip. It was a lot darker in color than what blood usually was, almost black. This was an alarming sight.

    "Your lip," Maka said.

    "Is it bleeding?" Crona asked, gently brushing their finger across their lip. Maka felt a strange rush of heat flow to her face, but shrugged it off like it was nothing. _Maybe I'm just too hot in my sweater vest_.

    "It's only a tiny bit," Crona said, looking at the smeared blood on their finger. Their lip wasn't bleeding very heavily, causing Maka to wonder whether that was from a Ragnarok-related injury, or whether Crona's lip was just really chapped. The rest of their lips did not look very chapped, so maybe it was just that one spot.

    "Why is the blood so dark?" Maka asked. _It's not bleeding thickly enough to look that way just by density._

    "Iron deficiency, nothing too serious," Crona replied.

    "That is serious," Maka corrected. "It means you're malnourished," she added, her voice filling with worry.

    "Maybe I should ask Lady Med... my mother if she has any iron supplements," Crona thought out loud. _How the heck did they become so iron-deficient in the first place that their blood would turn black?_ Maka thought.

    "Yeah, that's a good idea," Maka replied, as Medusa entered the hall.

    "There you are, Crona," she said. "Miss Albarn, the buses just left, luckily your father's still here, because I'm not driving someone who is not my child," she added.

    "Thanks for notifying me," Maka replied. "Bye," she added, giving Crona a quick hug, before walking off to Spirit's office.

 

    "Papa, I need you to drive me back to Mama's," Maka said.

    "I thought you already went home," Spirit replied, putting a stack of papers away, as Dr. Stein was trying to stick sharpened pencils in the ceiling. "Quit it, Stein," Spirit said.

    "I've got five left," Dr. Stein replied, as a pencil fell from the ceiling, causing a small clattering noise on the hardwood floor. "Six," he corrected himself with.

    "I'm gonna have so many holes in my ceiling," Spirit grumbled. "Come on, Maka, let's get you home," he added. As the two of them exited the room, they heard the small click of Dr. Stein's lighter.

    "Was that..." Maka started.

    "As long as he doesn't set the room on fire," Spirit groaned. "By the way, we'll be doing extra practice again this weekend," he added.

    "Again?" Maka asked. _The only weekend where we had a break was the week of Halloween. And I was really looking forward to tackling all the homework that had been piling up,_ she thought, letting out a sigh that Jane Austen would be astonished by.

 

    The final extra practice before the preliminaries was held on a brisk Sunday afternoon at the town rec center, due to the school auditorium holding a charity fundraiser that day. Maka had not slept much the preceding night due to multiple factors. She wanted to scream, or sleep, either was good. Not everyone had arrived yet, the only ones still absent were Black☆Star, Tsubaki, Crona, and Ragnarok. Since none of them had important roles in Summer Nights, the group was practicing that to make the most of their limited time. And Maka could not take it anymore. She didn't care anymore about whether she was yawning in the middle of the song, or her dancing not looking as up to speed as everyone else, in fact, since Spirit would never think of calling out his precious daughter on any of this, Maka figured she could get away with Tired Mode until she passed out. And unless they took a break right freaking now, she was sure that would happen. Harvar and Kim hit the final note, and with that, Spirit instructed a five-minute water break. Maka immediately flopped onto her back.

    "I'm gonna take a nap here," she said.

    "Maka, you okay?" Soul asked.

    "I only got two hours of sleep last night and I couldn't get back to sleep this morning due to helping with Papa's grocery shopping, do I look okay to you?"

    "No," Soul replied. "What kept you up?"

    "Homework and stuff," Maka explained. "I finally got done with that at one in the freaking morning, and I decided to sleep for a bit, until 3:02 AM," she added. "Which is when my phone went off, and apparently Ragnarok thought it would be funny to keep spam-texting me a YouTube link."

    "Rick Roll?" Soul asked.

    "I freaking wish," Maka replied. "So I texted back 'FINE, I'll watch it', and without actually doing that, I tried to go back to sleep, but morbid curiosity overtook me," she added. "It started as a video titled 'fluffy kittens doing fluffy kitten things', which from him, is highly suspect. Turned out to be a freaking screamer. I figured, 'welp, guess I'll lie in bed for another twenty minutes, completely awake,' and I was right. Until the phone RANG. I was going to pick it up, and yell to the person about not calling me at this ungodly hour, when I saw on the Caller ID that it was Crona. Apparently Ragnarok sent them the same screamer. I had to calm them down. We talked for an hour until I was sure they were one hundred percent okay. So when I was finally done with that, it was almost four-thirty in the morning. And then my goddamn neighbor starts mowing his lawn."

    Soul burst out laughing. "At that hour?" he asked, trying to regain his composure.

    "It's not funny!" Maka snapped. "Okay, maybe a little funny," she added. "But he didn't stop until well past five because he evidently didn't want to have a lawn anymore. And I thought, why all this on a Sunday? It's generally the day people are either really lazy or at church, not mowing their lawns for nearly forty minutes in the way-too-early morning. And then I lie in bed awake for who knows how long, and then the freaking sun's rising and the birds start chirping. And then I try to sleep through that for an hour or two but I can't because Papa thought it would be a wonderful idea to make breakfast bright and early. How was your morning, Soul? How was it?" Maka asked.

    "Wes woke me up after I had a dream where he died," Soul replied. "Since I wasn't fully awake I thought he must've become undead, so I hit him," he added. "I got my laptop taken away and also I was yelled at a bunch by both parents. Neither believed my side of the story, though it's admittedly pretty pathetic. At least I got a full night's sleep."

    "I will kill you," Maka grumbled, as the door opened.

    "HYAA-HAA! THE GREAT BLACK☆STAR HAS ARRIVED!" Black☆Star shouted.

    "Sorry we're a bit late, there was some traffic," Tsubaki added.

    "It's all right," Spirit replied. "We've still got three more regular practice sessions after this anyway," he added. Maka and Soul looked over to the two, and just as Black☆Star wanted, all the other eyes were on him as well as he and Tsubaki joined formation. But just then, the door opened again, and Ragnarok entered holding a stack of notecards, and Crona trailed behind. Ragnarok went straight to Spirit, and held up one of the notecards, while Crona walked over to Maka.

    "Is laryngitis contagious?" Crona asked.

    "Your mom's a nurse, wouldn't she have told you?" Soul asked in return, as Maka did a quick Google search on her phone.

    "It says some strains aren't, why?" she asked. Crona pointed to Ragnarok, as Soul walked off to the vending machine.

    "You're most likely going to be fine," Maka replied. Soul walked back over with three water bottles, one in each hand, and another in his mouth. Maka and Crona took the ones from his hands.

    "Thanks," Maka said. Soul made a noise that sort of resembled "you're welcome" but also didn't, before Ragnarok walked over to them, slapped the water bottle out of Soul's mouth, causing it to hit the floor, water spilling out everywhere. "That thing was open," Soul sighed. Ragnarok just held up a note card reading "not sorry", and walked over to Crona, handing them a note card. Crona winced a bit, and handed it back.

    "What are you even doing over here, anyway?" Maka asked. Ragnarok flipped through his notecards, and, apparently not having made one to correspond to this exact situation, he just shrugged. Soul and Maka stepped in front of Crona. Ragnarok held up a note card reading "Even if you idiots formed a barier, I could get right past you."

    "You spelled 'barrier' wrong," Maka said. "It's two R's," she added. Ragnarok just flipped her off and put his notecards away. There was an awkward silence after that, until Hiro interrupted from the other side of the room.

    "Hey guys, come look at this!" he shouted, holding his tablet.

    "What?" Kidd groaned, as Maka and Soul turned around to see what was going on. Hiro signaled people over to him, and then he found out the hard way that getting over a dozen teenagers to have good angles for looking at a tablet wasn't easy.

    "Short people in the front," he sighed.

    "What are you showing us?" Maka asked, going to the front.

    "I found a video of our competition," Hiro replied. "The public school named after the forgettable president," he added. "We must know our enemy if we are to defeat them." Hiro hit the "full screen" button on his tablet's player, revealing a tall dark-haired boy with a guitar, sitting in a choir room along with about twenty other teens.

    "Woah, he's actually kind of hot," Kim said. "What do you guys think?" she asked. The boy in the video started going on about how this was what his team was made of, and that the competition should watch out.

    "He looks like a senior, too old for me," Maka replied, as the public school choir in the video began an acoustic rendition of a cheesy boy band song.

    "But you gotta admit, he is pretty hot," Harvar added, as the boy in the video winked at the camera.

    "Eh, I prefer blondes," Crona said, completely disinterested by the video's contents.

    "Oh, like me?" Hiro asked, flipping his yellow-blond hair. His other hand slipped, and he dropped his tablet. It hit Maka's shoe. "Oh, God," Hiro said, bending down to pick it up.

    "Um, no," Crona replied. "Not at all like you," they added. Hiro picked up his tablet, and checked out the screen. There were no cracks, so he turned back to Crona.

    "Fine then," Hiro scoffed, as the video continued to play. _Well, the other school's group isn't too bad_. _It's pretty obvious they have more than one veteran in the group, and even then, their veterans are more than one-year. But they aren't dancing, they're just sitting and singing while one boy plays guitar._

    "They got a lyric wrong," Tsubaki said, as the video continued. After that mishap, the public school's group became considerably less suave and intimidating.

    "Yeah, it seems like if they make one mistake, they just fall apart," Soul added. "I'm not intimidated in the slightest."

    "I have a feeling we can beat these guys," Kim said. "Not gonna bet any of my precious money on the odds, but I have a feeling," she added.

    "We still need to practice hard," Maka stated, starting to lean on Black☆Star.

    "What the heck?" Black☆Star asked.

    "I'm really tired, just let me do this," Maka replied. The video was then cut off abruptly after the guitar player messed up with a note.

    "Yeah, I can't take these guys seriously," Kilik said, shaking his head. "I almost feel bad for them," he added.

    "Well, all we got left is the juvenile correctional school," Kidd said.

    "They wouldn't post a YouTube video, though," Liz added. "Right?" she asked. "Are they even allowed to film in one of those places?"

    "I don't know, somebody Google it," Jackie replied, taking out her phone. "I'm at least going to."

    "Get back to practice you guys, break's over!" Spirit called out, signaling everyone to certain sides of the room. Maka found herself, most of the other girls, and Crona, sitting around Kim yet again, as the opening chords for Summer Nights began to play for what Maka felt was the five millionth time. _Thank goodness I sit on the bench practically the entire time for this one, or I'm gonna pass out. Everything is hell and I'm beginning to hate this song. All I get is "was it love at first sight?" My only line. I just have to feign being awake for like three minutes, and say my one line when it gets to then. Oh gosh, am I falling asleep?_

    Maka started to involuntarily lean to the side, feeling sleep begin to overtake her. Her head abruptly hit a bony shoulder, and she snapped back to being fully awake. _Whose shoulder did I just hit?_ Maka thought, moving her head slightly, and feeling a few stray pink hairs tickle against her nose.

    "Oh, sorry," Maka whispered, looking up at a flustered Crona. Crona let out a little whimper of surprise.

    "It's okay," they replied. "Definitely okay," they added. As soon as those words came out of their mouth, they froze up."I-I mean..."

    "I know what you mean," Maka said, springing back upright and smiling. Crona blushed heavily. _Oh gosh, maybe I don't_ , Maka thought.

    "Maka, what was with all that?" Spirit asked, leaning a bit towards the girls and Crona in surprise.

    "Didn't get much sleep last night, almost fell asleep here," Maka replied, playing it off like everything was normal. "Then gravity pulled me down, and Crona just happened to be in its path," she added. "We should probably take it from the top." After Maka said this, Spirit just nodded and reset the music. The group went back to their practice. Maka sighed, and began the false chatter with the other girls. At this point, she couldn't wait until the preliminaries, not only because this particular routine was her least favorite, but so she could relax. Then she remembered that if they won, which they were sure they at least had a chance at, they'd be moving right on to State. Relaxation would become impossible, and Maka would have to get used to sleep-deprived days like this.

    "Tell me more, tell me more, was it love at first sight?" Maka sang. _Okay, now I'm done,_ Maka thought. Soul sang his line over at the boys' side, though he altered it to avoid the implications the original had. Maka just watched after that, only joining in on the "tell me more"s. At the end, she sighed.

    "Okay, take it from the top, we're going through this one one more time," Spirit said. Liz groaned as he restarted the track. Spartoi returned to their positions, and practiced the number again to completion, before splitting off further apart from the room.

    "You know, I noticed that even in the co-ed number, we're still split up by gender," Jackie said.

    "Yeah, the only ones of opposite sexes having some sort of interaction are Harvar and I, but we still don't come within three steps of each other," Kim added.

    "I wonder why that is?" Maka asked. "Boys on one side, everyone else on the other," she added, noticing her father over by a plant, appearing to be talking to it. "Um, maybe I should ask him?" Maka asked.

    "It's too late to change anything about it, but go right ahead," Liz replied. Maka walked over to Spirit.

    "Even if I split it up, there's still tension," he said. What? Maka thought. "Is it wrong to even think of it this way?" Spirit asked

    "Think of what?" Maka asked in return. Spirit made one of his trademark noises of surprise.

    "Nothing!" he gasped. Maka raised an eyebrow, before giving a skeptical glare. "Okay, it's something," Spirit added. "I separated the genders to avoid romantic tension with you and the other members," he confessed. Maka became livid. _Trying to control my romantic life, then becoming paranoid after what I'm sure was innocent friend stuff?_

    "Maka, are you attracted to girls in any way?" Spirit asked.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. "I'm bi."

    "Oh?" Spirit asked. "That kinda explains how much you talked about Tsubaki in sixth grade," he said. Maka blushed a bit, remembering that crush. She never acted on it, assuming Tsubaki was out of her league since at the time, she was thirteen and Maka eleven. And in her mind, a teenager would have not wanted anything to do with dating an eleven-year-old, so she was content with Tsubaki and her being friends.

    "Yeah, I guess so," Maka added. "Anyway, I wish you could trust me to make my own decisions about love wisely."

    "Oh damn!" Black☆Star, who seemed to have heard the entire conversation, interjected.

    "Black☆Star, be quiet," Spirit replied. "And Maka, I do trust you, it's just... hey, where are you going?"

    Maka returned to her group.

    "So?" Tsubaki asked.

    "He split the genders to hopefully prevent romantic tension between myself and a boy," Maka groaned in reply. "I let him know I was bi, so either way, it wouldn't matter if his sole goal is separating me from anyone I could end up getting a crush on," she added. Liz looked over at Tsubaki and raised an eyebrow, giving her a little smirk, before glancing over to either Crona or Patty, Maka couldn't tell since those two were standing near each other. Patty elbowed Crona's arm and whispered something to them.

    "You've got an overprotective father, huh, Maka?" Kim asked, taking Maka's attention off of Patty.

    "Well, after rumors circulated that I was dating Soul in eighth grade, he got really upset," Maka replied. "Apparently, when Papa was in middle school, nobody there dated and today's youth are growing up too quickly. I then reminded him that he had just turned thirty-two and that there isn't as big of a gap in our generations as he's making it out to be."

    "What did he say after that?" Liz asked.

    "He just reiterated that eighth grade was too young for me to start dating," Maka replied. "Never mind that I wasn't even dating anyone."

    "Well, I had a boyfriend in seventh grade," Liz added.

    "Sixth!" Kim chimed in, looking smug.

    "I had my first boyfriend in eighth grade, too," Patty said. "He dumped me via text message," she added.

    "I think that's enough with the boyfriend stories," Jackie replied. "The preliminary's in six days, we gotta practice," she added, taking her position.

    "Jackie's never had a boyfriend before," Kim whispered to Maka, as everyone else started to take their positions, Kim soon following. Maka walked over to the imitation wing area with everyone but Liz and Patty, who stood in the center of the girls' side. Liz began her part, and Maka counted down the seconds before she would lead the backups.

 

    "Great job, everyone, that was a great practice, so much improvement since last month!" Spirit beamed. "I especially noticed something different about the boys, and how they sounded so much better than usual," he added. "Now why was that?"

    "Ragnarok has laryngitis, doesn't he?" Kidd asked. Ragnarok held up a notecard with the words "shut up" on it, which was not nearly as threatening as his usual yelling.

    "Yeah, that was our only vocal difference," Soul added, slowly nodding, before receiving a not-so-playful punch in the arm. He winced in pain, and took some deep breaths. "What the hell?" he asked. Ragnarok just handed Soul a note card, which the younger boy proceeded to read.

    "Are you saying Ragnarok's useless?" Crona asked. "I'm sure he isn't, he... um," they added, grabbing their own left arm.

    "That's enough," Ragnarok interjected, voice incredibly hoarse from the laryngitis, and clearly straining to speak. "I could lip-sync, I guess," he added. He coughed.

    "I think you should actually sit this one out in the audience, Ragnarok," Spirit replied. "I don't have a track of your voice on record for you to lip-sync with, and even if I did, if you're caught, we'll be disqualified," he added. "If we are gonna lose, which we won't, I'd rather it be due to another team fairly outperforming us, not because we were caught cheating. Now, I'll see you guys at practice on Monday. Maka, your mother'll be here in about five minutes."

    "Okay!" Maka replied, as the group began to disperse, and several members began calling their parents. Soul handed Ragnarok back the notecard, who accepted it. Ragnarok then walked outside, coming back with a motorcycle helmet. He handed it to Crona.

    "Oh, thanks," Crona said, turning to Maka. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," they added.

    "Bye," Maka replied, waving, and watching the two cousins leave the rec center. _I didn't ask Crona about what they were about to say on Halloween after all this time,_ Maka thought, suddenly realizing it. _Well, I'll find out someday, and when I do, there might be hell to pay for a certain Ms. Medusa Gorgon. Wait, no, I still have some time._

    Maka burst through the door and ran off through the hall, catching up to Crona and Ragnarok. Ragnarok raised an eyebrow at Maka as she sped past him to stand in front of Crona.

    "Crona, can we talk for a second?" Maka asked.

    "Sure, about what?" Crona asked in return. Ragnarok pulled his notecards back out of his pocket, and started looking through them.

    "What happened on Halloween," Maka replied. "What did you mean when you told me you were afraid of your own mother?" she asked. Crona dropped the motorcycle helmet they were holding.

    "You told her that?" Ragnarok hoarsely asked.

    "Ragnarok, please stop talking," Crona replied, with wide, concerned eyes. Ragnarok then slapped them across the face, leaving a hand-shaped mark. "I-I wasn't trying to be rude," Crona added. "It's just...your laryngitis."

    Ragnarok grumbled something.

    "Maka, I told you to forget I said anything that night," Crona said.

    "I can't," Maka replied. "I don't want you to live in fear, Crona," she added. Crona sighed, hesitant to reply.

    "Oh come on, just tell her!" Ragnarok hissed, straining to speak. "What's the worst that could happen? She'd actually believe you?"

    "You know what she'd do to me if I told anyone," Crona replied, sounding as if the "she" they were referring to was not the same one Ragnarok was.

    "She didn't say anything about me telling Maka the truth," Ragnarok said, his voice almost going out.

    "That's not the best idea with your voice how it is," Crona replied, before turning back to look at Maka. "Maka, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, not without..." They stopped there.

    "Without what?" Maka asked. "Is she threatening you with something? Did she hurt you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

    "Their face," Ragnarok grumbled, looking back at the mark he created. Crona held their arm tightly, yet again, while trying not to make eye contact with either Maka or Ragnarok, looking at their pale hands. Maka felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. _I'm pushing them too much, aren't I?_ she thought. _But this is important, what's a few questions if it can help them no longer live in fear of the one person they shouldn't?_

    "What did your mother do?" Maka re-iterated. "If she's hurting you, please speak up, I can help to make sure she stops," she added. "Is she giving you a hard time because of your gender?"

    "It's not the only part, but..." Crona started, before Ragnarok handed them a note card. "Only say the important sh... no, I can't say that word," Crona read, cutting themself off before the curse.

    "Yes, she doesn't think it's real," Crona replied, picking up the dropped helmet. Ragnarok facepalmed, letting out a low groan.

    "Ugh, why can't she be supportive?" Maka asked. "Screw her, I'll be by your side for as long as you need," she said, leaning in for a possible hug, but Ragnarok blocked her, holding up a note card which read "hugging it out isn't going to fix anything, especially not this." He began to usher Crona down and out the hallway.

    "Crona, telling her the part that's the act of yours isn't going to be worth it here," Ragnarok said, unaware that Maka caught that. "Come on, your mother's going to be pissed if you're home late," Ragnarok said, attempting a higher volume, but due to a laryngitis-strained voice, it came out just as quiet and hoarse.

    "Act?" Maka said to herself. _What act? This is only getting worse the more I try to investigate._ Her phone went off. Maka looked over at the screen, and read the message. _It's just Mama saying she's here to pick me up,_ Maka thought, walking out to the parking lot. She saw Ragnarok's motorcycle speed out of the parking lot and onto the main road, going way over the legal limit and running a red light. _Well, at least he gave Crona the helmet._

    "Maka, hurry up, I've got a dinner reservation across town with my work!" Maka mother called out. "You don't mind eating the leftover pizza, right?" she asked, as Maka got in the passenger seat.

    "Sure, no problem," Maka sighed, looking out the window, as the car began to pull out of the lot.


	8. Chapter 8

    Maka arrived at the front doors of Shibusen Academy wearing not her usual uniform, but a simple white tank top and jeans with a black jacket. She looked at the evening sky, as her father parked the car. Maka entered the school and began to make her way across the black-and-white tiled floor to the familiar choir room, whose two doors from each side were now marked with "boys" and "girls", instead of the usual "choir room". Maka entered the girls' side to find a majority of the other girls save for Jackie and Kim, three makeup vanities, and an opaque black room divider separating them from the boys.

    "Can't believe it's finally preliminary night, huh?" Tsubaki asked, unbuttoning the first few buttons of her top.

    "Yeah, I can't believe we made it this far," Liz replied, taking off her shoes. Maka set her bag down, and took off her jacket.

    "Anyone else a bit nervous?" she asked, getting her costume out from her bag.

    "Yeah, I can't sit still," Patty replied, pacing back and forth. "Should we wait to start changing until the others get here?" she asked, looking at Tsubaki and Liz.

    "What, I only took off my shoes," Liz replied, noticing Tsubaki's halfway unbuttoned jacket. Jackie entered the room and set down her bag next to Maka's.

    "It's kind of weird being at school out of uniform, isn't it?" Jackie asked.

    "We can hear every word you girls are saying," Hiro called out, unnecessarily.

    "Yeah, we know," Maka replied. "The divider isn't soundproof," she added, hearing Soul sneeze loudly on the other side, before hearing Hiro start to get into a panic over people sneezing and possibly being sick. Maka thought he was being far-fetched, and chose to ignore him. _Certainly nobody would come to an important event like this sick,_ she thought. Just then, Kim arrived, already taking off her athletic jacket with the letters "D.CITY" and a stylized skull across the chest. Kim tossed her jacket to the side, revealing a plain white fitted tee.

    "Can I change now, or are we still waiting for someone?" she asked, scanning the room.

    "Well, all the girls are now here, but I don't know if Crona'll use this room or some other place to change," Maka replied.

    "They're not on our side!" Black☆Star said at a raised voice. "Where is that kid?" he asked. As if on cue, Maka heard a familiar voice's annoyed groan at the doors, before hearing a knock at the girls' door.

    "Anyone changing in here?"

    "No, Crona, you can come on in," Maka replied, as Crona cautiously opened the door to the minimum point where they thought they could slip in. Not getting their hips through, they had to open the door a bit further, almost getting their skirt caught in the door.

    "Maka, you're right," Kim whispered. "They did pick somewhere else to change," she added. "Sure glad I didn't bet money."

    "I put this on at home," Crona replied, passing by to the corner.

    "What's with the blazer?" Liz asked.

    "Neckline's low," Crona replied, sitting down.

    "Are you wearing the straps?" Maka asked, pulling out a pair of clear elastic dress straps, meant to be clipped onto the costume.

    "No," Crona replied. "I probably should," they added, unbuttoning their blazer. They turned away from the girls to slip it off, before searching their bag for the clear straps. "Oh, found them," they said. Maka walked off to one of the makeup vanities and took out a makeup kit. She did her foundation and eyeshadow, before leaning in really close to the mirror to put on waterproof mascara, careful not to poke herself in the eye due to inexperience putting it on. _Careful, careful,_ she thought, finishing the upper lashes of her right eye, before moving to the left. _Wait, am I supposed to put this on both the upper and lower lashes?_ Maka leaned back to see how her eyes looked. _Yeah, maybe I should_. Maka quickly went back in by the mirror, starting to do her lower lashes. The only other time she had worn makeup was at a school dance in eighth grade, and even then her mother did her mascara for her. But Maka had watched her mother apply her mascara on the few days where she hadn't gone to work before Maka got up, and combining that with seeing other girls freshen their makeup at locker rooms and public bathrooms, Maka had a fairly good idea as to how applying mascara worked. She finished up her application, and moved on to applying a bit of blush, before pulling out a tube of lip stain. She opened it, and slowly brushed the light pink color against her lips with the little lip stain wand. She looked in the mirror at her handiwork. _Not bad,_ she thought, as Kim sat down at the vanity next to her, and started to apply her own makeup. Maka got up from her chair. _All right, appearance-wise, I'm ready to go on,_ she thought, seeing Crona approach in the mirror. The first thing Maka noticed when she looked over at them was how much their collarbone stuck out. It looked like it came from one of those starving dogs from the ASPCA commercials, or a particularly underweight model before Photoshop. _They look like they've lost weight since we met,_ Maka thought, expression instantly turning to concern. _And they were already really skinny before, too. Should I say something?_

    "We can't skip stage makeup, right?" Crona asked, arms hiding their chest. "I didn't bring any."

    "Is the neckline still not staying up?" Maka asked in return, before noticing Crona had put the clear straps on and tightened them to their tightest possible setting. "And no, we can't skip stage makeup," Maka added, handing Crona her makeup bag.

    "No, the neckline's fine, I just don't think I can deal with showing off this much skin," Crona sighed.

    "It’s not too revealing," Patty interjected, looking in the mirror at the amount of cleavage her costume displayed. "Damn, I do look good though," she added. "Well, even on me it’s only a tiny sliver, so it’s not too bad," she said, looking at Crona's crossed arms.

    "Mine isn't really showing cleavage," Maka replied.

    "Yeah, it's really just mine and Patty's that are showing some," Kim added. "Well, I guess we now know who's the bustiest," she said.

    "Hold up, I think mine's purposely cut higher than all yours," Maka interjected. "Yeah, nearly everyone else's necklines are heart-shaped, while mine's more linear," she added, looking down at her chest. "Is this just a mishap?" she asked. _I have got to ask Papa about this._

    "How do you use this stuff?" Crona asked, pointing to the contents of Maka's makeup bag.

    "You put it on your face," Patty replied, smiling, apparently unaware of the unhelpfulness of her comment.

    "Let me help you with that," Maka said, walking up to Crona. "You're much paler than I am, so this foundation's gonna be useless unless I cover every inch of exposed skin with it, which I do not have enough for," she added, glancing down, noticing it really was everyone but her who had the heart-shaped neckline. Her eyes remained there for a second, before she quickly looked back at the makeup, silently chastising herself. _Why the hell did I glance there?_ she thought. _Okay Maka, keep your cool, you only looked for like half a second anyway. Maybe they didn't see that._

    "You know how to do eyeshadow, right?" she nervously asked.

    "Which one's the eyeshadow?" Crona asked in return. _I guess the answer is no_ , Maka thought, almost amazed at how her friend could be so ignorant of cosmetics in this society, before hearing someone on the boys' side make a similar inquiry to another. Maka silently hoped that boy was not mocking Crona with that comment.

    "That one," Maka replied, pointing to a subtly olive-colored eyeshadow palette, with brown, black, and an off-white.

    "Maybe you should do this," Crona said. Maka just stared for a second. _Well, I wouldn't expect Ms. Gorgon to be the type of mother to allow them to wear makeup at this age, regardless of whether or not they want to._

    "Okay, close your eyes," Maka replied, opening the eyeshadow. "Just a fair warning, I am not a professional makeup artist," she added, getting a bit of eyeshadow on the small brush. Maka held it up to Crona's eyelid, and hesitated a bit. _I feel like I have to be more careful now than with my own eyelids,_ she thought, cautiously applying subtle eyeshadow to one eyelid, then the other. Crona flinched a bit, almost messing it up. The olive eyeshadow, despite Maka mixing it as best she could with the off-white from the palette, still looked terrible with Crona's pink hair and blue-gray eyes, Maka tried not to show her disdain visibly for the resulting color palette, and instead covered it up with the black, which she felt suited Crona far better anyway. The result looked rather muddy, but at least it didn't clash as much with the rest of their face or their hair.

    "You can open your eyes now," Maka said, putting away the eyeshadow. Crona opened their eyes, blinked a bit, and looked at their reflection. "How's that?" Maka asked.

    "Different," Crona replied, trying to smudge it off with a tissue so at least it would be lighter. Maka could see Liz cringing in the mirror.

    "Okay, this is going to be the worst part," Maka said, getting out the mascara wand. "You have to keep your eyes open for this, _hold still_ ," she added as she came in closer. She started applying the mascara, trying to get it over with quickly, yet do it right. She knew what it was like to have someone else apply her mascara, knowing it was not a pleasant ordeal. _Some things are just better done yourself,_ she thought, hearing a small whimper escape Crona's lips.

    "Don't move," Maka said, moving to the other eye. She could see the uneasiness in their expression, and she could swear their eyes even appeared a lighter and icier blue for a

second. _Contacts?_ Maka thought. _Or a trick of the light..._ Crona made another small noise, flinching a bit, away from Maka and the mascara wand.

    "I'm almost done," Maka said. "Just hold still for a bit longer," she added.

    "I don't think I could deal with doing this for much longer," Crona replied, trying not to move.

    "Just hang on just a second," Maka said, finishing up the last of the mascara. "Okay, I'm done with your eyes," she said, gesturing towards the mirror. _Oh my gosh, their eyes look even wider than they already are. They're so huge..._

    "You can do the blush yourself, it's really simple," Maka said, getting out some light pink blush and a makeup brush, before handing them to Crona. "Just add a tiny bit to your cheeks at about here," Maka added, gesturing to where she put the blush on her own face.

    "Okay," Crona replied, quickly dusting their cheeks with the blush, before glancing again at the mirror. "Well, at least it's already pink," they muttered, running their fingers through the long strand of hair in the center of their bangs, which some of the powdery blush had gotten into. "We're done, right?" they asked.

    "We still have to do your lips," Maka replied, pointing to the tube of light pink lip stain, before picking it up.

    "Oh, you're going to do that?" Crona asked.

    "If it's okay with you," Maka replied.

    "Yeah, that's fine," Crona said. Maka leaned in closely, eyeing Crona's lips. _Am I too close?_ she thought. But she didn't pull back. Maka opened the tube of lip stain, and pulled the wand out of the tube, scraping the excess off onto the sides. She slowly brushed the lip stain against Crona's lower lip, turning it a pleasant shade of light pink. Crona flinched a bit, apparently not expecting it to feel like that. They made another small noise, and moved their left arm a bit, almost near Maka's hand, before stopping themself.

    "Okay, relax," Maka softly said, moving the lip stain back and forth a few more times with gentle strokes, making sure she got every centimeter covered, before moving to Crona's upper lip. Maka made the first stroke, feeling a bit of their warm breath hit her index finger. She made the rest of the strokes, pulling her hand back a bit to admire her handiwork, still almost intimately close to their face. _Huh, it turned out nice,_ she thought. _But in comparison, the rest of Crona's face looks so pale, almost like a ghost. Still, they look oddly beautiful. Although now, it's in a way that seems more... not them._ Maka leaned back to a normal standing position, and took a few steps out of the way so Crona could look in the mirror at the finished job.

    "Is that..." Crona began, looking closely.

    "Is it what?" Maka asked, noticing Tsubaki looking at her and Crona with bewildered eyes, from two vanities over.

    "This is fine," Crona replied, not sounding convinced. _Do they not like it?_ Maka thought.

    "Well, we're done with the makeup, so no more of that," Maka said, turning to Tsubaki. "And just what were _you_ looking at?" she asked, unintentionally drowning out Crona's sigh of relief.

    "Maka, could you come over here a second?" Tsubaki asked. Maka walked over to her. "What was all that?"

    "What was what?" Maka inquired, raising her eyebrow.

    "That," Tsubaki replied. "The lip thing," she added. _Oh yeah, we weren't alone in here._

    "I was just helping them," Maka explained. "They had never worn makeup before, and had no idea how to apply it."

    "Yeah, but you didn't have to be so..." Tsubaki started. "How do I put this without sounding awkward?" she mumbled to herself.

    "Oh no," Maka muttered. _It looked weird, didn't it?_

    "Yeah, I have no words," Tsubaki said, getting back to her makeup. Maka waited for a few minutes, before she heard the sound of her father knocking on the boys' door.

    "Is everyone done changing?" he asked.

    "On our side, yeah," Black☆Star replied. "How about the girls?" he asked.

    "We're good, just finishing the last touches of makeup," Liz replied, as Spirit opened the boys' door, and began to push back the room divider, so the two groups could see each other for the first time that night.

The boys were wearing white button-up shirts and khaki pants, with ties the same shade of light green as the girls' dresses.

    "Kim, you look just as radiant as an evening sunset in Paris atop the Eiffel Tower," Ox said.

    "An evening sunset?" Kim asked. "As opposed to a sunset in what other time of day?" she added, snickering.

    "It's a wonder these costumes even came in on time at all," Harvar said, changing the subject so his friend wouldn't be embarrassed any further.

    "Speaking of the costumes," Kidd added, "why is it that only Maka has a different neckline than the others?" he asked, turning to Spirit. _Yes, I would really like the answer to this one,_ Maka thought, glaring.

    "I told Blair to order that custom neckline shape to everyone, not just her, guess there was an ordering mixup," Spirit replied. "Thank goodness it’s less revealing in real life than it looked on the website."

    "Well I for one like it a lot," Hiro interjected. "Especially for you two," he added, looking directly at Kim and Patty. They both glared, before turning away.

    "Okay Hiro, that's enough," Spirit warned. "Gather 'round, everyone," he added, as Spartoi started to form a semicircle in front of him, expecting a pep talk. "We may be short one man due to laryngitis, but that won't stop us from winning," Spirit began. "This team may have only been created two months ago, but we still have what it takes. We have integrity, friendship, and our voices on our sides, and with that combination, we're sure to knock everyone's socks off. This day'll make or break us, and I want to show them that we will not be broken. So I want us all to go out there, do our best, and win this not just for ourselves, but for Shibusen Academy!"

    "For Shibusen Academy!" several members of Spartoi exclaimed.

    "For the legacy of Tone Death!" Hiro shouted.

    "For Spartoi!" Kilik added. Hiro glared at him.

    "Okay, we're on in fifteen, so I wanna see everybody backstage in the next five to ten minutes," Spirit said, walking back towards the door and exiting the room. Hiro immediately followed him out, as well as Kidd and the Thompson sisters. Other members quickly phased out within the minute, until all who was left in the choir room was Crona. Maka turned back around as she exited the door.

    "Hey, are you coming?" she asked, as she heard the pitter-patter of everyone else's footsteps go off down the hall.

    "In a bit," Crona replied, looking uneasy.

    "What's wrong?" Maka asked, walking back in the choir room to approach them. She could see Crona had still not left the chair at the vanity, and was slouched in it, facing away from the mirror. They were covering the skin the dress exposed with their arms again, and were looking down at the floor.

    "I can't do this," they replied, shaking a bit. "I don't want to go out there in front of who knows how many people, especially since I know Lady Medusa and Ragnarok are there, and I feel ridiculous wearing all this, and I-I can't do anything right anyway, and if I'm there, I know we're going to lose, since there's nothing I can do at this point, " Their eyes got all watery after that, and their voice was beginning to sound crackly and choked up.

    "Please don't cry, I'm here, okay?" Maka asked, running up to Crona and pulling them into a tight hug. "Is there anything I could do?" she asked, breaking off a bit to see their face, which couldn't hold back a few initial tears.

    "I don't think so," Crona replied. "At this point, I can either brave it or do nothing," they added. "And I still don't know if I can."

    "You can do this, Crona," Maka said. "I'm sure you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for," she added, fully breaking off the hug. "Here, this might fix the exposure problem, at least," Maka said, pulling out her white tank top. "Hopefully this won't look odd if you wear it under the dress," she added, holding the tank top up to Crona's chest, and comparing how the necklines looked. The tank top's neckline was high enough to cover up to their collarbones.

    "Um, thank you," Crona replied, cracking a slight smile.

    "I know it won't alleviate all your stage fright, but hey, if it helps," Maka said. "I'm gonna go head backstage, and hopefully, I'll see you in a bit," she added, walking off through the choir room door, stepping down the wide hall on her way to the auditorium's backstage entrance. She looked around for the door, before twisting the knob, and walking up the narrow, stairwell. A light flickered above her as she made her final few steps into the backstage area. Maka could feel her nervousness really set in at this point. _I'm here, and I'm going to compete for the first time._ She could hear Principal Morte, Kidd's father, beginning his announcements to the crowd, as she turned past a hallway, the dressing rooms of the other two teams. Maka walked up another set of stairs to the wings, where she saw what looked like the correctional school's team, and a tall dark-skinned man, presumably their coach, dressed in a manner far too informal for an event such as this. _Wrong wings,_ Maka thought, crossing around behind the stage to find the rest of Spartoi, as well as Spirit, and Blair, who was busy on her phone.

    "Over here!" Soul called out in a hushed tone, as Principal Morte began to announce the judges, starting with the name of the local fish store owner, and continuing to a woman named Misery, the dormitory superintendent for Death City U. Maka stood by Tsubaki, who squeezed her hand for half a second, before giving Maka an eager look.

    "And our third and final judge is Death City's youngest priest, Justin Law of... whatever our biggest church's name is, I haven't the foggiest idea!" Principal Morte announced. "Oh, well."

    "Oh God, grant me the knowledge of which team will be blessed by your benevolent favor," Justin prayed, clutching his flashily large cross necklace. _Hmm, it appears he's gone all out,_ Maka thought. _He's wearing his full priest getup and everything_.

    "Okie-dokie then," Principal Morte said. "First up, from Deathly Springs Juvenile Correctional Academy, the Big House Beats!" he called out, as the team from the correctional school took the stage, and Principal Morte exited the wings on Spartoi's side. He pulled Kidd aside for a pep talk. Maka sat down on an unused amplifier, and watched the correctional school kids' routine. They chose "Beauty School Dropout," as their first song, and were highlighting a silver-haired girl with birthmarks at the corners of her lips and an feminine-looking boy with neatly combed black hair as their lead performers. Maka disliked the way their voices played off each other, but still watched because there was nothing really much else to do in order to distract herself from her rushing nervousness.

    "Hey, where's Crona?" Black☆Star asked.

    "Don't tell me they quit on us," Hiro groaned.

    "They'll be here," Maka replied. "See, there they are now," she added, pointing off to a doorway. Maka scooted over a bit so Crona might have room to sit on the amp if they wanted to, as they walked over to the group.

    "What's with your costume?" Spirit asked, noticing Crona had followed Maka's earlier suggestions.

    "I'm sorry, I'm just more comfortable like this," Crona replied, slumping down against the front of the amp. Maka looked down at them, and gave a reassuring smile.

    "It still looks good with the rest of the costume, so no harm done, right?" Tsubaki asked, looking over to Spirit.

    "I guess, since it's only the preliminary," Spirit replied.

    "Only the preliminary?" Hiro asked. "This is what's going to make or break our team, just like you said, we can't have someone looking that out-of-the-norm," he added. "As club president, I order you to go change!"

    "As faculty advisor, I order you to ignore Hiro," Spirit interjected. "You look fine, and besides, Maka's got a different neckline anyway, so we can just use the excuse that we felt a risk of showing cleavage was inappropriate for the freshmen, if anyone asked," he added _._ Suddenly, the music from the correctional school kids' routine changed from "Beauty School Dropout" to the obviously more contemporary "Teenage Dream."

    "Ha!" Ox exclaimed. "Didn't they have to use all songs from classic musicals?" he asked. "We are witnessing our competition get disqualified."

    "Actually," Kidd replied, walking back, "This pamphlet says each team must have a minimum of one full song from a classic musical, it says nothing about the entire routine being so."

    Spirit's eye twitched a bit. He excused himself from the room, and Maka could soon hear a frustrated scream from the hallway.

    "Wait, Kidd, you mean we could've had good songs in our routine?" Kilik asked.

    "Hey, 'Grease Lightning' isn't that bad," Black☆Star interjected. "Although now that I think about it, that's probably just delusion from overexposure."

    "No," Maka replied. "I still detest 'Summer Nights' with a passion," she added. "After tonight, I never want to hear it again for as long as I live."

    "Got it, we'll play it at your funeral," Soul said.

    "Providing I don't outlive all of you first," Maka muttered, hearing Patty begin to practice her scales. Maka looked down at Crona, who was curled up in a little ball, looking like they were about to cry. _They're still like this,_ Maka thought. _Poor thing._ She got down from the amp and sat next to Crona, putting an arm around them.

    "You're gonna be OK," Maka said in reassurance. "Okay?" she asked, trying to look them in the eye.

    "I'll try," Crona replied, holding onto their legs harder.

    "You can do this," Maka said. "I believe in you," she added.

    "Imagine the audience in their underwear," Black☆Star suggested. Crona made a noise that suggested that they really didn't want to do that.

    "I always thought it was imagining them naked," Soul added.

    "My mother's in the audience," Crona replied. "I can't do that."

    "Then imagine them all as memes," Patty loudly suggested with such passion and aggression in her voice it was unclear whether she aimed to motivate or threaten. Crona let out a small "eep" in response. _Well that was the cutest noise I've heard today,_ Maka thought.

    "Imagine the audience as refrigerators, that's what works for me, don't ask why," Harvar said. A few people stepped away from Harvar. "What?" he asked nonchalantly. _I really wanna ask why,_ several thought.

    "Just imagine the audience as whatever won't scare you," Tsubaki said.

    "Okay, I'll imagine them dead," Crona replied. Maka removed her arm from their shoulder, taken aback. "Dead people can't judge you," Crona added. _Technically true, but really macabre._

    "Well, whatever works," Tsubaki said, taking a few steps back. She whispered something to Black☆Star, who nodded. Spirit came back with several headset microphones, which he handed out, and a bag of single serve Doritos which he soon began chowing down on. Blair looked up from her phone at Spartoi.

    "Oh, you guys all look fantastic!" she squealed. "Although one of you seriously isn't getting the point of assigned costumes," she added.

    "Keep your voice down, people are competing," Spirit replied, as Crona tightened their dress straps until it got to the point where the straps could not go any further, pressing into their shoulders. Their dress was still unable to go completely flat, though, but that would likely not be noticeable from the distance the judges were going to be at.

    "I gotta tell those art club kids to get that car prop up here," Spirit said, walking off again. During the time it took for him to get back, the correctional school kids transferred to their third and final number, which happened to be another Katy Perry song. Soul tried to silently groan, as well a make an exaggerated gesture of annoyance. Spirit returned with some older students, a Vietnamese girl with braided hair and glasses, a short redhead boy with headphones, and a girl who looked sort of like Patty, except she had heavier mascara and carried herself more modestly. The four of them were carrying a life-sized and somehow very realistic three-dimensional cardboard car, meant to look like the one from Grease. _I guess this is why Papa didn't want the boys to play around on it, since it's cardboard and all. I really thought our school would have a higher budget than that._

    "Thanks guys, you've been a real help," Spirit said. "Now go watch the performance, if you can find seats in that practically full house out there," he added. A noise similar to a wheezing pig came out of Crona, which startled Maka. The art club kids left the backstage area without saying anything, as Hiro silently cheered.

    "We've nearly got a full house, and it's only the preliminary!" he squealed, barely able to contain his excitement.

    "It's because I'm here, no doubt," Black☆Star gloated. "I can't help it if the masses flock to my massive star potential," he added, still sporting a cocky grin.

    "I hired the entire Mathletes team to show up," Ox whispered to Maka.

    "That's just yourself, Harvar, and a senior with dumb sidebangs," Maka whispered back. "So you paid one guy," she added. Ox gulped, no doubt thinking his gesture would've been seen as much grander.

    "I got half the cheer squad to come, and not including us, that's like a dozen people," Kim retorted. "And I didn't have to pay them."

    "Oh yeah?" Kilik asked. "I was able to convince a few of the football team's members."

    "How many?" Ox asked.

    "Um, four," Kilik replied. "Still more than you, though."

    "I got some of my relatives," Maka said. "Mama was busy, but my grandma promises to record it for her."

    "I got two of my friends," Blair interjected.

    "I convinced Ragnarok," Crona mumbled, adjusting their neckline.

    "That doesn't seem like enough for a nearly full house though," Hiro said.

    "There's still the friends and family of the other teams," Maka replied, stepping almost into the wings. She looked upon the other team's closing movements and lyrics, until they struck their final pose. There was thunderous applause from the crowd, as the curtain went down. Maka could hear the black-haired boy call out to his coach, who she soon found out was named Noah. Spirit called over Black☆Star to help him set up the car prop, as the other boys walked out on stage to their starting positions.

    "Good luck, you guys!" Maka called out, as the other girls flooded into the wings. Blair dashed off to hopefully make it to the audience in time.

 

    "And now, Shibusen Academy's own Spartoi, formerly known as Tone Death!" Principal Morte announced.


	9. Chapter 9

    Heavy applause bellowed through the auditorium as Spartoi's routines finished up. _This is it, we've made it,_ Maka thought, hearing the sound of a megaphone being turned on.

    "Hey, pinky with the white top, you suck!" a familiar laryngitis-y voice yelled. _Damn you, Ragnarok,_ Maka thought. The curtain came down, and the fourteen members made their way to the wings. Maka turned off her headset mic, as Spirit immediately ran over and hugged her.

    "You guys did it!" he beamed.

    "Can I get a hug too?" Patty asked, turning off her mic. Liz grabbed her sister, holding her tight.

    "We haven't won yet," Kidd said. "We still have to wait for those public school kids to do their routine, as soon as our props get cleared off."

    "We got an edge since we can afford big props like those," Kim added, as stage crew members began hauling off the table and bleachers. The public school kids began walking up past Spartoi, onto the stage.

    "We've got an edge because of the great me, hya-hoo!" Black☆Star exclaimed.

 

    "And now the Songbirds from James Garfield Public High School!" Principal Morte announced, as the beginning instrumental for a song from "Sound of Music" started to play. Several members of Spartoi stood at a distance from the wings to watch them, while others remained in the rest of the backstage area. Kim immediately grabbed Jackie's arm and dragged her off to a corner, while another corner was soon occupied by Crona. Black☆Star gestured for Maka to come over by the wings with him.

    "What is it?" Maka whispered.

    "I think their video was staged," Black☆Star replied, pointing to the public school kids. "Look, they can actually dance," he added. _We're screwed,_ Maka thought, watching the other kids as they sashayed and strutted across the stage.

    "Didn't they look really good at first in the video anyway?" Hiro whisper-asked.

    "We'll chant 'derail' under our breaths," Patty replied.

    "No, that's very rude," Tsubaki whispered. "We shouldn't antagonize them, they're trying their best," she added, as the public school team transitioned from "Sound of Music" to a rap song with an entirely different beat and tone, with no few-second break in between the songs.

    "Oh, that's a bad transition," Soul muttered, walking over. "And it's so loud, too."

    "Why are they facing away from the stage, oh tell me they're not gonna..." Hiro started, walking off to the ones who weren't in the wings.

    "Oh my God, they are," Maka groaned, as Tsubaki walked off. "It looks like there are even freshmen doing it," she added. "That's way too young."

    "Too young for what?" Spirit whispered. "Are those kids twer... oh, no," he added. "There's no rule that says they can't, but I'm sure that these specific judges don't wanna see teens as young as fourteen like this."

    "So why do it in the first place?" Black☆Star asked. "It's kinda dated now, too."

    "I guess," Spirit replied in a hushed voice. "Don't make any judgements before they're done with the rest of their performance though, guys," he added, walking back off to the corner, before squatting down and trying to talk to Crona. Maka walked off from the wings, standing over by Tsubaki. Before she could strike up a conversation, Blair returned backstage.

    "Come out here, all of you," she said, gesturing over to the door she came from. _Wonder what this is about?_ Maka thought, as she, Liz, Kilik, Harvar, and Jackie went down the small bit of stairs between the stage and backstage levels in that order.

    "Risa, Arisa, this is... um, part of Spartoi," Blair said, gesturing to the five teens to draw more attention to them for the two women. "Where's the rest of them?" she asked Liz.

    "Apparently not interested enough," Liz replied, as Patty and Kim walked down the stairs.

    "This is Risa," Blair said, pointing to a blonde woman in a yellow dress, "and this is Arisa," she added, pointing to the other woman, a brunette wearing a purple dress.

    "So this is part of the team three of your cheer girls are in?" Risa asked. "You guys were terrific," she added.

    "Huh? Where's the pink-haired one who was wearing the extra top?" Arisa asked.

    "Up by Mr. Albarn," Liz answered, pointing up. "But they're a bit sh-" Arisa walked off up the stairs before Liz could finish her sentence. "Oh, well."

    "So, do you guys think you'll win?" Risa asked.

    "Definitely," Kim replied. Liz, Patty, and Kilik also voiced their approval. Jackie and Maka shrugged.

    "I say we have a chance," Harvar said.

    "Ugh, no," Soul added, walking down through the stairs. "A slim one."

    "Why are you being such a downer?" Patty asked, smiling. "We're definitely gonna win."

    "No, we still suck just as bad as we did in September," Soul groaned, walking off. "I gotta use it," he said. Maka watched him for a few steps, before walking back up to the backstage area. She saw Arisa trying to convince Crona something, and Spirit talking with Tsubaki. Maka walked back over to see the public school kids wrapping up their performance with a rehash of the boy band song from their video. Only Hiro and Black☆Star were still watching at this point.

    "Yeah, they faked that video," Black☆Star said. "It's obvious they're doing their best," he added. "They still pale in comparison to me."

    "Let's hope the judges think so," Maka sighed,as the public school kids finished their number. Before the curtain could go down, the apparently handsome dark-haired boy walked up to close to where the curtain would fall. As it came down, he pointed to the crowd.

    "All you girls out there, you're beautiful," he said, taking another step out. "I hope someday, you'll find a guy who'll treat you right and love you for every bit of who you are," he added. Maka almost gagged on the message's canned sappiness. The boy walked back with his team, and they returned to their dressing rooms.

 

    "Okay, that's all three of our competitors!" Principal Morte announced. "Please take a teensy little break while the judges make their decision!" he added, slipping backstage. He turned off his microphone and walked over in Spartoi's direction. "Kidd, where'd you go off to?" he asked, scanning the group for his son.

    "Father," Kidd addressed Principal Morte with, walking off with him.

    "Yo, Maka's dad!" Black☆Star called out. "How long 'til we win?"

    "Depends on how long it takes for the judges to make their decision,"  Spirit replied. "In the meantime, I want us all to gather up in the green room."

 

    Three minutes passed in the green room.

    "I'm going to the picnic, and I brought apples, blueberry pie, corn on the cob, dumplings, egg, fish flakes, gun, a hamster wheel, ice cream, a jump rope that's been spray-painted, kangaroo feces, letters to my executioner, Maka, nothingness, orange flavor, popcorn, a quest for gold, a rabbit, soft airport aesthetic, turtles, used napkins, a vagina, a wishing well, a xylophone, your mother's butt, and a zebra cursed to only be able to sing Rocky Top," Patty recited. Everyone clapped for her.

    "I have never seen anyone complete a round of this freaking game in my entire life," Maka said. "Let's do another round while we're still waiting."

    "I'll start," Soul replied. "I'm going to the picnic, and I'm bringing an ashtray."

    "I'm going to the picnic and I'm bringing... holy crap, there's a superball back here," Black☆Star said, reaching behind a couch. He pulled out a superball, and proceeded to make throwing motions.

    "Careful, there's glass in here," Spirit warned. Black☆Star threw the ball to the floor. It bounced up to a wall, before bouncing off that, hitting Crona in the forehead, and landing in Jackie's lap.

    "You OK?" Black☆Star asked, as Jackie threw the superball, and it bounced up and out the open window, hitting the hood of someone's car.

    "Um, we were on 'B', right?" Jackie asked, looking out the window.

 

    Another three minutes passed.

    "And we're now at eight minutes," Kidd sighed, as Patty took several paper cups from the water cooler.

    "I'm gonna do the Cup Song," she said, moving the magazines off the table. Tsubaki started to pick the magazines up, as Patty started stacking the cups around and singing half the chorus to a song Maka could vaguely remember from some movie she hadn't really seen. She picked up a magazine from the magazine bin.

 

    Two more minutes passed, and as Maka was engrossed in her magazine, Soul took several cups from Patty's stack, visibly annoyed at the fact that Patty really only knew half the chorus to that song.

    "How long is this gonna take?" Soul grumbled, trying to put the cups back at the water cooler.

    "I gotta pee," Harvar said, walking to the door.

    "This is the fifth time, Harvar!" Black☆Star said, throwing his hands up in the air.

    "This is actually the first time tonight, learn to count," Harvar replied, exiting the green room.

    Another five minutes passed, during which Harvar returned.

    "When?" Maka asked, looking at Spirit.

    "When Principal Morte comes to get everyone," Spirit replied, as Black☆Star, Soul and Patty started debating whether or not the couches had enough cushions to make a pillow fort. Ox looked out the door.

    "Does he know we're in the green room?" Ox asked.

    "He should, I called him about four minutes ago," Kidd replied. Ox turned back around and began pacing.

    "Man, if I knew it would take this long, I would've brought Cards Against Humanity," Liz groaned. The door opened, and Principal Morte stepped in.

    "Yo! Hiya! 'Sup?" he greeted. "Anyway, the judges have made their decision, so come on out to the stage, hurry!" he added, motioning everyone out.

    "Well, at least this didn't take as long as Tone Death's last state finals," Hiro said, leading Spartoi out. Maka brought up the rear with Spirit and Crona, as the group made its way to the stage.

 

    The curtains were still down, and all the kids from the other teams were already standing there. Spirit withdrew to where the other teams' coaches were standing in the wings, as Principal Morte went out to get the envelopes containing the winners' names.

    "This is so exciting!" Patty said, glancing around and grabbing Liz's arm in excitement.

    "This is terrifying," Crona muttered, squeezing on to Maka's hand. Maka could feel the sweat on their trembling hand. Principal Morte entered the stage, standing dead center. The curtain raised up, to reveal the audience for one last time. Maka took a deep breath. _We'll either advance, or this'll be it for Spartoi, she thought. Please, come on, let us advance._

    "Okay, it's time to reveal our winners!" Principal Morte announced, as stagehands brought out the three trophies, a bronze one, a silver one, and a gold one. None of them were really their colors' namesakes, instead just plastic painted to look like so. Principal Morte opened one of the envelopes.

    "In third place, the Songbirds from James Garfield Public High School!" Principal Morte called out, as a girl from their team went out to accept the small bronze trophy. The audience clapped, as the girl returned to her team, who displayed mixed emotions.

    "Psh, third place is technically dead last," Kim said. "At least we're safe from that."

    "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for..." Principal Morte began. Maka felt Soul grab her other hand in a crushing grip. Maka held on tight to both her friends' hands, feeling like she'd probably crush Crona's long, bony fingers in the tension of the moment. "The winner of this year's South Nevada Regional Preliminary Show Choir competition, is... pause for dramatic effect," Principal Morte teased. Maka could hear some kid mutter "that's not any of the teams' names". She chuckled a bit. _It was either Spartoi or the Big House Beats now, and why did Kidd's dad think it was appropriate to pause like this?_ Though the pause only lasted for a few seconds, it felt agonizingly long. Maka could hear a kid from the other team biting their nails, or at least she thought it came from the other team. The rest of the moment was almost silent, save for the

sounds of breathing and that nail-biting kid. Maka took another deep breath, as Soul relaxed his grip. On the opposite side, Crona tightened theirs. Maka could feel one of their fingernails unintentionally dig into the back of her hand. Principal Morte cleared his throat, causing the nearly fifty teenagers onstage to look at him, all in unison. He opened another envelope.

    "Drum roll, please!" he requested.

    "Get on with it!" Black☆Star shouted. Kidd grabbed Black☆Star's arm and angrily whispered something to him. From the orchestra pit, the sound of a drummer's handiwork began.

    "And our winner is, in first place..." Principal Morte began. _Don't you dare pause again,_ Maka thought. "From our very own Shibusen Academy, Spartoi!" Principal Morte shouted. "With the Big House Beats from Deathly Springs Juvenile Correctional Academy as our runners-up! Spartoi's going on to State!"

    Maka couldn't believe her ears. Spartoi had won their first competition together. Black☆Star started cheering loudly, as Kidd took the larger remaining trophy, in all its golden glory. The silver-haired girl from Deathly Springs took the silver trophy and returned to her team.

    "Well, that's it, everyone!" Principal Morte said. "Everyone have a good night, hope you had fun watching the competition! Please drive safely on your way home!"

    The curtain began to come down, as Kidd brought the trophy to the other clustered Spartoi members.

    "I can't believe we won!" Tsubaki said with glee.

    "It's so shiny!" Patty exclaimed.

    "And as an added bonus, perfectly symmetrical," Kidd added. "I think I'll personally find the best place in our trophy case for that one."

    "You're going to rearrange the entire thing, aren't you?" Liz asked.

    "I already did that at the beginning of the year," Kidd replied, as Spartoi, trophy in hand, poured out into the wings.

    "You guys did it!" Spirit shouted, hugging Maka.

    "Hug the rest of us, man," Black☆Star said.

    "Group hug, everyone!" Kilik announced, as a majority of Spartoi started pulling each other into said group hug. They held it for a while, fifteen people all in celebration of the year's first triumph. Only time would tell if they were ever going to have a moment like this again this year.

    "This is Spartoi, isn't it? I'm the legendary journalist from the local paper, can I get your guys' picture out in the entrance hall with the trophy?" a short, eccentrically dressed man wearing a long-nosed theater mask asked. Spartoi broke off the group hug and looked over at the man.

    "Oh God, not him," Hiro said.

    "It'll just be one picture, and they'll probably interview some of the kids with lead roles," Spirit replied.

    "You may call me by my pen name, Excalibur," the reporter said. _Oh, I've read some of his "one thousand provisions" columns_. _They're very annoying and the morals of the stories never seem to_

_connect with the actual content. Actually, there needs to be a new word specifically for how annoying those columns are._

    "Right this way," Excalibur said, brandishing his cane.

    "I think we know the way to our own entrance hall," Black☆Star grumbled.

    "Fool!" Excalibur exclaimed, pointing his cane at Black☆Star and causing the boy to jump back a bit.

    "Watch where you're pointing that th-"

    "FOOL!" Excalibur shouted.

 

    Spartoi held out for what was probably the most obnoxious group photo shoot any member had ever faced. Excalibur called out Kim, Spirit and Harvar for interview. _Great, I'm going to be stuck here for a long while with this man present_ , Maka thought, as Ragnarok and Medusa went out into the entrance hall, both making a beeline for Crona.

    "Get your bag, Crona, we're leaving," Medusa barked.

    "How the hell'd you guys win?" Ragnarok asked, voice still hoarse. Crona shrugged.

    "We won because we had the greatest star that ever shone on our team!" Black☆Star beamed, as Excalibur started interviewing Kim and Harvar.

    "Sorry you couldn't be up there," Crona stuttered, looking at Ragnarok. _Oh, you dirty little liar,_ Maka thought. "With your laryngitis and all," Crona nervously continued.

    "And if he keeps talking, he might just lose his voice permanently," Medusa added, glaring at Ragnarok. Surprisingly to Maka, he backed down, making a small gulp. _Whoa, he actually fears someone._

    "Um, Lady Medusa, did you like our-"

    "Shut up and get your bag," Medusa interrupted.

    "Y-yes, ma'am!" Crona squeaked, walking off towards the choir room. Maka raised an eyebrow at Medusa. _Don't think I'm still not suspicious of you, Ms. Gorgon,_ she thought. Medusa glared at Maka with her piercing snakelike eyes. Maka almost felt Medusa could have read her mind at that moment. It was disconcerting.

    "I really wish you hadn't gotten to know my child so well," Medusa whispered, leaning in really close to Maka. "If not, it would make you so much easier to cast out of my life, before you start meddling into things, any more than you already are," Medusa continued to whisper. She leaned back outwards, acting like she never whispered those things in the first place. Crona returned with their blazer back on, holding their bag. _Wow, that was fast,_ Maka thought, as Crona held out the tank top.

    "Maka, you can have this back," they said.

    "Oh, thank you," Maka replied, trying to play it off like Medusa hadn't just told Maka about her desire to cut the meddling young girl out of her life. Maka took back her tank top, holding it against her. "I'm going to go change back out into my regular clothes, I'll see you on Monday, right?"

    "Yeah," Crona replied, as Medusa began to lead them off. Medusa made a grimace at Excalibur, as Maka ran back off to the choir room.

 

    Once there, she changed out of her dress and back into her casual clothes. She took a deep breath through her nose. _Hmm, my tank top smells kind of... nice now, instead of how neutral it felt before._ Maka scanned the floor, through the discarded clothing articles. O _kay, it seems neither I nor Crona left anything behind, that's good._ Maka left the choir room, walking back out to the entrance hall, where Excalibur was still interviewing. The only difference being that the Gorgons and Ragnarok were no longer present, and a few kids were on their way back to the choir room to change out back into their normal clothes.

 

    "Now then, will any of you Spartoi members be joining my five-hour recitation party tomorrow?" Excalibur asked. "We will be discussing my "thousand provisions" columns at length, as well as anecdotes from my life such as the time on that one summer day where I, no, it was winter, and I was at the town pool climbing up the high dive, wait, that was definitely in summer, maybe July or August, possibly even June. Anyway, I had a pool floatie and was checking at the concession stand as to which end of the pool was the shallow end or the deep end, because some delinquent removed the labeling. Though I am a world-class swimmer in many circles, I still had on me just swim trunks and water wings, ready for a long leisurely September swim. No, it was definitely on the Fourth of July weekend, and I was in charge of grilling the hot dogs. They were cooked to perfection, and I put one in a Chicago-style bun, before adding ketchup, mustard, relish, and sauerkraut. Actually, I added mustard, ketchup, relish and sauerkraut. And it was a chili dog in a pumpernickel bun. So I ate my hot dog, and swim fins in hand, I returned to the high dive. This was at the Summer Olympics, mind you, not some town pool. And I wasn't going to let the 'don't swim for twenty minutes after eating' rule run my life because I had to bring glory to my family barbecue. Ah, what a wonderful family it was. I miss them so much, not a day goes by where I don't remember the tragedy. Never mind that, I made the dive, and shattered about three world records in the process! Though they refused to admit me into the hall of fame because I had on my pool floatie, and as such, my diving records didn't count. What a tragic day that was for diving fans around the world. And that, my friends, is why, when rock climbing, you should always wear a safety harness unless you are well-experienced."

 

    "You're so annoying!"


	10. Chapter 10

 

    It was all too much. Too much pressure, too much panic. Crona considered dropping out immediately after the preliminary, needing some peace of mind. Desperately needing some peace of mind. But six days had passed since then, and the group was spending all their time building set list ideas for State. There was no window for escape unless they made one. But there were still some benefits to their participation in this particular club. For one thing, it was on the complete opposite side of the school from the nurse's office and most of the athletic clubs, providing the least interaction with Medusa. Another reason was that Maka was there. Maka was one of the only reasons Crona felt they could stay there. With her, they felt more secure. Like she was the only person preventing the hell inside their head from fully permeating the outside world. Maka was too kind, more than Crona felt they deserved, though she insisted they did deserve every bit of this kindness. In addition to all this, there was this other feeling Maka seemed to invoke. A curious, peculiar feeling Crona hadn't ever felt before they met her. Something like nervousness, but also sort of like happiness. Like their heart would leap out of their chest every time she held their hand. Or whenever she got too close, they felt this weird fluttery feeling in their stomach. And despite the oddness of these feelings, Crona wanted to be close to her, the girl they considered their closest friend, sometimes she felt like their only one. It's not that Crona didn't like any of the others, it was just really hard to get close to them. They got lucky to be friends with Maka. Not like they were allowed to get close to any others. Maka was only given an exception because it was too late when Medusa found out.

    The end of the meeting struck, and Spartoi began exiting the choir room. Ragnarok had begun to show his face again, due to his laryngitis fully clearing up, but he still wasn't fully participating, instead mostly using his time to pick on Crona. In fact, Ragnarok was always the first out of the door. Crona made sure they were one of the last. They could hear Spirit approach Ox and begin talking to him about something. _Oh, he's busy again, Crona thought. I guess I'll let him know I want to quit on Monday._ They could hear Liz and Kim discussing tomorrow's Fall Formal, which would normally be an event Crona wouldn't want to go to. But there was a thought that intermittently crossed their mind about it, and today was their last chance to act on it. Maka walked off with Soul towards the locker halls. Crona was hesitant to follow, instead glancing around the halls a bit. _Okay, at least I'm pretty sure Ragnarok's gone, I guess I won't get interrupted if I do this._ They took a step in the direction of where Maka was going. _Maybe I can't do this. This is a terrible idea, I mean, it's only one day away. Too last-minute, right?_

    "What, you're too much of a wuss to even talk to her now?" Ragnarok asked. Crona jumped back in surprise.

    "Please don't sneak up on me like that," Crona replied in vain, knowing he most likely wouldn't listen.

    "Yeah, I'll still do it," Ragnarok said. Crona sighed. _Not like I expected anything else, they thought,_ walking off. "Hey, where are you going?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Well, maybe I can do this," Crona replied, walking out of Ragnarok's sight. _At least I can try to avoid him._ _Can't imagine how awful it would be if we were conjoined or something_ , they thought, shuddering a bit as they walked down the hallways.

    "No, don't think about that, you're going to see Maka. You should've asked her this earlier. It's too late now, isn't it? No, I think I can do this." Crona felt that odd, heart-pounding feeling

return before they even went around the corner. _I can't do this,_ they thought. Maka and Soul's lockers slammed at nearly the exact same time.

    "Dammit, only half a second off," Soul said.

    "We'll get it on Monday, right?" Maka asked. Crona peered around the corner.

    "Well, we have to before the end of the semester, or else I'm gonna end up owing Kilik twenty bucks," Soul sighed. "I mean, it's not much, but this is the first bet I've made with a classmate and not Black☆Star."

    "Huh?" Maka asked, looking over her shoulder. She made eye contact with Crona for about half a second, before Crona quickly stepped off to where the corner would hide them. _She saw me. Wait, are those her footsteps? She's coming closer,_ Crona thought, as Maka went around the corner.

    "Crona?" Maka asked. "Don't worry, it's just a harmless little bet Soul's gotten himself into," she added.

    "Yeah, not like I was asking her to that stupid Fall Formal," Soul added.

    "So what if you did?" Maka asked. "I'm not gonna go with you anyway," she casually added.

    "Yeah, there were enough rumors about us in eighth grade," Soul replied, walking off with his backpack slung over only one shoulder. _This is it, I guess. What am I waiting for? The subject's sort of floating there, it's just the two of us, and this is my last chance. I'm sure that's why I'm feeling so nervous about it._

    "M-Maka?" Crona asked.

    "Yes?" Maka asked in return.

    "I know this is a bit last-minute, but..." Crona started. "Maka..."

    Crona heard the familiar click-clack of Medusa's work heels. _No, not now. Maybe I can get it all out before she makes me leave._

    "Maka, would you go to-"

    "Crona, we're leaving!" Medusa called out. Crona looked over their shoulder.

    "Wait, Ms. Gorgon, could you let Crona finish what they were going to say first?" Maka asked.

    "I'm sure it can wait until Monday," Medusa replied, feigning a nice smile, and ushering Crona to follow her out to the parking lot.

    "You better be glad I intervened," Medusa said, once she and Crona got in her car. "Honestly, Crona, do you even have any common sense? If that Albarn brat wanted to go to the formal with you _she_ would have been the one to ask _you_ by now," Medusa added, starting the car.

    "I-" Crona started.

    "No, don't speak," Medusa said. "I want this ride home to be silent."

 

    Once the two Gorgons got back to their house, a relatively nice two-story home with most of the lower floor underground, Medusa immediately went into the kitchen alone, getting out a single microwave meal. Crona walked downstairs to their room. If Medusa only got out enough for one serving, that meant she was the only one who was going to eat that night. Crona accepted without question they had done something Medusa considered horrible at some point in the day. This always happened when they did something horrible. They resigned to their little room downstairs, and shut the door behind them. Crona let out a long sigh, and sat down on their bed. They reached for a pillow and held it close to their chest. The pillow was a comforting thing to have, not something that outweighed the impact of constant denials of food, but a comforting thing nonetheless. Crona tried not to focus on the feeling of hunger, or the feeling of guilt for doing something wrong. Something. _What was it this time?_ Crona held the pillow closer. The loneliness of their room became as apparent as every other night, with its gray walls, its lack of much furniture or amenities, save for a bed, a dresser, and a closet, all in neutral tones. There were no windows. Crona glanced at the single photo on the dresser, a picture of them with Maka, taken at

school. They looked so happy together in that photo, it filled Crona with guilt to look at it. They wanted to tell her what was happening to them, about everything, but they were worried about what Medusa would do to them if they did. Or what she'd do to her. Realistically, Medusa couldn't lay a finger on Maka without getting fired from her job at best, or facing the wrath of Maka's friends or parents. Or just as likely, Maka herself. But there was always that little bit in Crona's mind that knew their mother's terrifying potential. Her ability to lie and manipulate got her where she was now, with a child she constantly treated as less than human, and being able to sweep this treatment under the rug like it was nothing when they were in public, feigning the act of just a strict mother who did no harm. While Crona was forced to lie, lie about their home life, lie about their mother, lie about why they were always so thin. And since Halloween, it got worse. Even alluding it to Maka was a horrible mistake. A horrible mistake that they were still feeling the

repercussions of. No lunch on weekends until the end of the semester, not being allowed to see friends outside of school or club practices, and an even more constant, watchful eye, just to name a few. Having any conversation alone with Maka was in and of itself a risky endeavor. She had not brought it up in a while, but Crona knew she would again sometime. And then they would make the choice of either withholding the truth to their dearest friend, again, or hoping that telling the truth would not cause things to become worse than they already are.

    Sitting in silence for a few more minutes, only stopping to take of their shoes, Crona remained alone until their door opened. Medusa stepped in, sitting down on the bed next to her child.

    "Set down your pillow and quit acting like that, we need to talk," Medusa said. "About your recent... behaviour with the Albarn girl."

    _Trouble._

    "You've been too close to her, I want you to distance yourself," Medusa said. "She only sees you as a project, someone to be cured, as soon as she has her way and you're acting like a normal person who doesn't panic over every little thing, she'll leave you for all those other kids she's around," Medusa added. "Only feigning to love you because she doesn't want a downer in her class, or Spartoi."

    "She can't be," Crona replied, holding their pillow tighter. "No, I'm sure she's not feigning it. But what if she is? The first person to show me any real kindness, and she might not even be genuine about it?"

    "She's even playing along with your silly little _phase_ ," Medusa scoffed. "I highly doubt she even takes it seriously, not that anyone would."

    "But she does take me seriously," Crona replied.

    "How do you know she isn't lying to you?" Medusa asked. "You can't tell, can you?"

    Crona held their pillow even tighter.

    "She's only been 'kind', hasn't she? Telling you only what you want to hear? Just using honeyed words to keep you at ease and suppressing you from your real self, why, it seems like she wants you to be just another artificially happy high-schooler without a care in the world. Your emotions may be annoying, but they are a part of you, a part she's trying to invalidate and deny, under the guise of 'kindness'. But isn't she pressuring you? Meddling into our family's business, thinking I'm a bad mother to you?"

    "Well, sometimes she has been a bit demanding when she tried to find out the truth," Crona replied.

    "But I'm not a bad mother, right?" Medusa asked. "I don't hit you, I care about whether you're making good grades, and I don't make you uncomfortable with public displays of parental affection or being a source of embarrassment."

    "Mhm," Crona mumbled. Their stomach growled.

    "Why would you want to be friends with a person who belittles and lies about your dear mother?" Medusa asked. "She grew up too cushy, she doesn't understand that a real mother has to have a strong, firm hand instead of being gone all her life," she added, not giving Crona a chance to reply. "She only thinks I'm bad because her mother is worse."

    An absentee. Maka's mother was barely there, but Maka used that in a positive way to get a head start on learning to be a responsible adult in the future. And yet despite her mother not being there for her, she showed no fear, but admiration. How does that work, to not fear your ultimate authority?

    "Distance yourself gradually from the girl, send her away if she mentions me or any fear, act like nothing's wrong, especially here, even sever the bond if you have to," Medusa ordered. "You're too close to this girl, and your pathetic, spineless mass is going to crack under her pressure if you get any closer to her."

    "Yes, ma'am."

    "Good, good," Medusa said, smirking. She got up from the bed and walked over to the dresser. She picked up the picture of Crona and Maka. "Now, be a good little one and get your act together," Medusa said, walking back towards Crona. She leaned in really close to their face. "You know if you ever break it, that it still won't make any difference." she added. "If you get taken away from me, there'll be no way for you to ever see the Albarn girl or any of your other friends ever again; Shibusen's a very expensive school, it's unlikely most in the area will be able to afford it."

    "I know," Crona replied. _Unlikely, but not impossible, right?_ they thought. _No, it'll be pretty much impossible._

    "It's because of me and only me your life is the way it is," Medusa said, eyeing Crona with an awful glare. "Without me, you wouldn't be in the school that you are, you wouldn't be able to see any of your friends, you wouldn't be able to do anything, even. Besides, it's morally wrong to separate a mother and child, no matter the circumstances."

    Just then, both Gorgons heard the faint sound of the doorbell ringing.

    "I swear, if that's her, I'm just going to send her back across the street," Medusa groaned. "If her mother's home, she will have to deal with her little brat's prying," she added, walking out of Crona's room and up the stairs, presumably to the doorstep.

    "She's going to send Maka away forever, isn't she?" Crona asked themself. "I don't want that to happen, I can't deal with losing her."

    Crona held the pillow even tighter, hoping that whoever was at the door wasn't Maka. They didn't care if it was Ragnarok, a delivery guy, a solicitor, anyone but Maka. Letting things go with her would eliminate the only ray of hope Crona had felt in years. They didn't want to lose that. Even if Maka's kindness was fake, or if she only considered Crona to be a project, would it be far better than being Ragnarok's punching bag, or worse, Medusa's nothing? A series of loud thumps coming from the stairwell interrupted Crona's descent into the darker recesses of their mind. _What was that noise?_ they thought, cautiously letting go of their pillow and peeking out their bedroom door. At the bottom of the stairs was a Roomba, turned on its back, with one of its wheels broken. It appeared to have fallen down the stairs. Crona sighed, and returned to their room.

    "She can't see you right now!" Medusa snapped, off in the distance. Crona quickly grabbed their pillow and hid in the corner. _It's Maka, isn't it?_ they thought. _She's the one at the door, isn't she? Lady Medusa's going to tell her she can't ever see me again, isn't she?_

    Crona heard the front door slam, and then silence. Tense, excruciatingly unbearable silence that continued on for about four minutes, before it was ended by the creaking open of Crona's bedroom door. They saw the familiar honey-colored twist of Medusa's hair, and the small device she was holding. _Whatever happened back there must have crossed a line,_ Crona thought. _And I crossed a line, since she needed to bring that out._

    "When you go to school on Monday, put this in one of your ears," Medusa ordered. Medusa then handed Crona the earpiece. "It'll automatically pick up everything you say, and what others say to you, with no way for you to turn it off," she added. "I'm not sure if I can trust you to keep things up on your own anymore."  

    "Yes, ma'am," Crona replied, trying to make eye contact with Medusa, but they could barely manage.

    "I was going to use this as a last resort, but after the little incident at the door, I figured I'd go ahead and bring it out now," Medusa said. "Go on, test it."

    Crona looked at the small device in their hand, about the size and shape of an earplug. _Where does she even get the time to make this stuff?_ they thought, inserting it into their ear. Medusa put her finger to her left ear. There was a sharp buzzing sound coming from Crona's earpiece, and they tried to remove the device, wincing in pain.

    "You inserted it wrong," Medusa blankly said, watching Crona struggle with the still-buzzing earpiece. "I can't believe someone wouldn't be able to accomplish such a simple task," she added, as Crona got the earpiece out. They could still hear a faint, high-pitched sound.

    "It's still..."

    "It's off, you just were enough of an idiot to give yourself tinnitus," Medusa said, taking the earpiece from Crona, and turning it around. "You insert it this way," Medusa said, putting the device in Crona's other ear. "There, now I'll be able to keep tabs on you better at school, which is incidentally the only place you'll be allowed to be outside of the house for the rest of the semester. Events don't count, but club practices do."

    Medusa left the room, as Crona poked at their still-ringing ear. _It's not going to be like this forever, isn't it? And what "incident at the door" did Lady Medusa mean? Maka must've showed up, Lady Medusa wouldn't have acted like this because of any other person. Just the one who's closest to finding out. Still, I'm sure if she did, Maka would just-_

    "Crona, do you hear me?" Medusa asked, as Crona picked her words up in their earpiece.

    "Yes, Lady Medusa!" Crona replied, a bit startled.

    "And I heard you," Medusa added. "Good, now if you ever slip up, I'll know, and I'll be ready. Take it out for now, and put it back on once you go to school. Don't try to fry it in the gym showers, the resulting electric shock will deafen you in that ear, and possibly get to your brain. And if you remove it, I'll know."

    Crona removed the earpiece, mentally noting which way it had to be inserted for next time. _Whatever happened up at the door made Lady Medusa take these measures, made her lose her last bit of trust_.

    "I'm untrustable, aren't I?" Crona asked themself, setting the earpiece down. "Maybe I should just disappear." They heard Medusa on the other side of the door grumbling something about a tenacious brat. Crona heard their cell phone ring. _Oh, she didn't take that away from me,_ they thought, picking it up. They saw Maka's name on the screen, and their heart skipped a beat. They answered.

    "Maka?" Crona asked in a hushed tone.

    "Why are you whispering?" Maka asked in return.

    "Not important," Crona replied.

    "Okay then," Maka said. "Hey, at school earlier, were you going to ask me to the formal?"

    Crona paused for a second, as they tried to regain their composure. They took a deep breath, as their heart was racing.

    "Because I wouldn't mind, actually," Maka added. Words failed Crona at this moment. Their hand trembled a bit against the covers, and they could feel their face becoming bright and blushy. _She can't be, she's just humoring me, isn't she? There's no way that Maka would actually want to go, she has shown contempt for the event, what caused her to change her mind?_

    "We could go as friends, if you'd want to for a bit," Maka said. _Friends._ Crona looked down at their feet, as a feeling of dread surfaced in their stomach. Why did that word seem to upset them? Maka was their friend, it shouldn't make them feel this way when she reaffirms that.

    "Actually, I can't make it," Crona replied, voice quaking.

    "What? Why?" Maka asked.

    "I... I think I'm in trouble for something," Crona replied. "I'm sorry."

    "Oh," Maka sighed. Crona detected the disappointment in Maka's voice, and it pained them to hear it. "I guess we'll be seeing each other again on Monday, then," Maka added.

    "Okay," Crona replied. "Bye."

    They hung up the phone, and turned it to silent, before cramming it into the back of their dresser drawer. _I'm not going to pull this out again at all tonight, I don't even care if I forget it,_ Crona thought. Crona then sat back down on their bed, and buried their face in their hands, expecting tears to flow. _Of course you'll never be anything other than a friend to her,_ they thought. _Why are you letting that bother you? And essentially rejecting her? What an awful move, no wonder Lady Medusa has you in a near-constant state of punishment. You don't deserve Maka. Not even as a friend. Why do you find her so damn important? Oh, wait, I guess you must love her, don't you?_

    "Damn it," Crona muttered to themself. "Of course this had to happen," they added. "I'm not sure if I can deal with this at all," Crona sighed, laying facedown on their pillow. _Pathetic. It's not like you even deserve her love. Seeking it would just be a waste, yet here you are. How long has it been since that day? Two and a half months of summer, and nearly three months of school year. You've barely known her half a year, and those first few months still echo in your head. Before you slipped up on Halloween and made things worse._

 

    Remembering that summer started to make the tears flow all over again. Crona just buried their face in the pillow and hoped it would muffle the crying. They tried to mainly focus about the happy memories from the rest of that summer to try to cheer themself up. About those days where they just talked with Maka out in one of their yards, or on the Gorgons' front porch. About the first time the two held hands, and how natural it seemed to feel. And the first time the two were in their school uniforms, meaning they'd still be able to spend so much time together, possibly even more than that.

 

    _"I... I can't believe we're both going to Shibusen," Crona said, walking away from the mirror after just having tried on their new uniform._

_"I know, it's one of the best private schools in the state!" Maka exclaimed in reply. The joy in her voice was practically contagious, as the two soon-to-be freshmen were trying on the different uniform combinations. Crona picked up a black necktie and a ribbon tie of the same color._

_"I wonder why they have different uniform options?" they asked themself, as Maka put a black sweater vest over her button-up shirt. She turned to the mirror and twirled in her skirt a bit._

_"Something about fostering student creativity and individuality to improve the educational environment," Maka replied, admiring how she looked in the full-length mirror. "Why else do you think administration was also kind enough to let you keep dying your hair that cute shade of pink?"_

_"Cute?" Crona asked. "How can a color be cute?"_

_"It just is, you don't have to question it," Maka replied. "And speaking of cuteness, I think you'd look adorable in that ribbon tie," she added, pointing to the ribbon in Crona's left hand. Crona set the necktie back on Maka's dresser, and slid the ribbon underneath their shirt collar, tying it into a thin bow. Maka stepped away from the mirror._

_"I think I'm going to go with this," she said. "Although I'm still not sure whether I should go with ribbon or regular tie," she added. "Well, guess I could alternate."_

_Crona looked at themself in the mirror._

_"She's right, the ribbon tie does work well for me," they whispered._

_"Speaking of alternating, I think I'm going to wear the slacks some days," Crona said. "I mean, it's not that I don't like the skirt or anything, it's nice," they added, pausing._

_"Whichever one you're comfortable with, I guess," Maka replied._

_"My mother says I have to wear the skirt for the entirety of the first week, though," Crona added. "Something about preventing everyone from mistaking me for a boy. But now I guess they'll mistake me for a girl."_

_"Then correct them when they do," Maka replied. "It's not your fault if they get it wrong, and if they give you a hard time about it, tell me and I'll kick their ass into next week," Maka added, rolling up her sleeve and flexing her elbow a bit in an attempt to look tough, despite her being barely five feet tall, wide-eyed, and having her hair tied in pigtails. Maka still looked like she could break a guy's jaw with one punch regardless._

_"You'd really do that for me?" Crona asked, actually feeling like what a non-forced smile was like._

_"Yeah," Maka said, pulling her sleeve back to its default position. "You know, you have a really cute smile," she added._

 

    That was when it all started spiraling from not just the comfort and security of friendship, to a curious little feeling of budding love. Which then bloomed. Crona was never one for subtlety in their emotions, so they were sure Maka must have known about it without even having to be told, regardless of whether she felt the same way.

 

    They snapped out of their memories, not wanting to drift to the point where Medusa found out, and started to make threats. Disallowing Maka from being in the house, taking away Crona's house key, and working on the earpieces. What was once a sweet, loving friendship turned to a sweet, loving friendship being used as leverage. Crona was allowed to keep ties with Maka, just as long as they were not too close, and that Maka never found out about Medusa's treatment of Crona, or Medusa might get even worse, a thought that at this point, Crona could not bear to become reality.

    "Counseling?" Medusa yelled over the phone, within earshot of Crona. They lifted their head off the pillow by only an inch or two, before laying back down.

    "What are they worried about this time?" Crona asked themself, keeping their voice down as to not interrupt their mother's call.

    "Listen to me, Mjolnir, Crona doesn't need any counseling, so stop letting my child talk to you," Medusa barked. "I don't care about whatever disorder you say my child has, I'm not going to pay extra on top of its tuition... I mean her tuition… wait, it’s free? But I still think counseling services from a woman like you are useless when all my child needs is a good talk with its mother," she added. There was a pause. Crona contemplated pretending to be asleep when Medusa would inevitably barge into their room and tighten her demands of them, but not only was it barely past seven-forty, but they were still in their school uniform. She would never believe it.

    "An eating disorder?" Medusa asked. "What makes you think that?" she pondered with faked innocence. Crona could hear a few "mhms" from Medusa as this Mjolnir person, presumably the counselor, went on about what she suspected.

    "I see," Medusa said. "Well, like I said, nothing a mother can't fix," she added. "Besides, a counselor doesn't truly care about her patient, she's just doing it for the money, right?  And I heard you specifically say in the teachers' lounge that you were wanting to get married and subsequently quit your job as soon as possible, so how can I even guarantee you'll even care about my child in the first place? Goodbye, Miss Mjolnir."

    Crona heard the click of their doorknob turning, and Medusa walk back in.

    "First the Albarn brat at the door, and now the counselor calling me, suspecting eating disorders?" Medusa ranted, slamming the door. Crona made an audible whimper of fright when the door slammed. Medusa scoffed at the noise.

    "I had to turn her down because I can't trust someone like you with talking to a professional," Medusa added. "But the eating disorder thing gives me an idea."

    "What?" Crona asked, sensing trouble. They didn't want to lie and say they were starving themself, when in reality their mother was starving them. It just didn't feel right.

    "You told the Albarn brat you were scared of me, you can tell her a 'reason' now, and it'll explain your gradual loss of weight over the course of the semester," Medusa said. "This is a genius idea, why didn't I think of it?" she asked. "It'll put everyone off the hook, and life can continue on just as it should be."

    "It's one thing to leave out the truth, but I don't think I can deal with telling her a flat-out lie!" Crona replied. "Especially about something so serious."

    "You wouldn't want me to no longer even give you lunch money, and make you feel true, uninterrupted starvation again now, would you?" Medusa asked, glaring again with those snakelike eyes.

    "I understand, Lady Medusa," Crona replied, sinking their face back into the pillow.

    "Still, it would explain everything in a way that is tragically normal in today's society," Medusa added. "So many kids your age are getting them because of body image issues and the like, I've even had to treat a poor kid who passed out due to one last year, so it's not unheard of in this school. And you even bind your chest, so I'm sure with your intelligence level, everyone would assume you'd think starving yourself would only get rid of the fat in your breasts or something, and you'd be ignoring the effects on the rest of your body, because eventually, you think you'll naturally have a completely flat chest again, just like before puberty hit."

    "Wait, how do you know about the binding?" Crona asked. _I never told her I was, even back when I used bandages. And more importantly, why would she think I'd starve myself just for a flatter chest when I own a binder?_ they thought. _I guess it's just for an alibi, but it doesn't seem logical at all._

    "Crona, do you think I'm stupid?" Medusa asked. "I'm your mother, of course I'd know about those things. Also, I saw you trying to wash it in the bathroom sink and making a huge mess of things. Where'd you even get such a thing anyway?"

    "Maka gave it to me," Crona replied. "I didn't ask her to, she just did on her own after she found out about the bandages."

    "And we're back to her," Medusa hissed. "Just promise me that if she asks, you'll tell the brat that you were afraid of me because you 'have an eating disorder', and didn't want me to find out, not for the real reason," she grumbled.

    "Yes, Lady Medusa," Crona replied.

    "And don't get any closer to her than you already are, I'd recommend you start to distance yourself, so she doesn't even notice at first, until by the end of the year, it'll be like you're a stranger," Medusa added. "You would do that for your dear mother, wouldn't you?" she asked.

    Crona hesitated a bit.

    "Yes, Lady Medusa," they replied.

    "Good," Medusa said, smiling. Apparently pleased with this, she left the room, locking the door behind her from the outside.

 

    Two simple rules, and both would soon become more and more broken. Like vases that were being chipped, piece by piece, until eventually they would become shattered heaps of broken glass on the floor. Perhaps it's time they should shatter.


	11. Chapter 11

    Maka arrived at school on the Monday after the formal, with a jittery and excited heart. Spirit walked behind her, not saying a word but looking really excited, as he departed to his office. Today was the day the solos for State were going to be announced along with the final set list, and a little bird let slip to Maka who was most likely in the final running for the lead female role. All she needed was to wait out the rest of today before she finally got her confirmation. The excitement was going to give her the jitters at this rate. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait, Maka thought, making her way down the halls to first period's English class. As she passed the freshman locker halls, Maka heard a slam, and looked around the corner, expecting to find Ragnarok and Crona in a typical bully-and-victim scene, but instead she found Kilik and some other kid from his Algebra class talking. _I guess one of them must've closed his locker too hard,_ Maka thought. _That's a relief._ She waved to Kilik, who waved back, giving her a cheerful hello. Maka made the rest of the way to Mr. Buttataki's classroom, where Kidd and Soul were already sitting at their seats, talking about the formal Maka had not attended. She scanned the room for a familiar fluffy mass of pink hair, but couldn't find Crona anywhere. Guessing they were just running a bit late, Maka sat at her usual desk by Soul and Kidd.

    "Hey, Maka," Soul said.

    "Hey," Maka replied. "Kidd, is everything okay?" she asked, noticing how he looked pretty upset.

    "Kind of, at least it appears I'm not the laughingstock of the school after last weekend," Kidd sighed, sounding a bit relieved.

    "For what? What happened to make you a supposed laughingstock?" Maka asked.

    "He was just telling me that his OCD acted up really bad when he was at the formal," Soul replied.

    "Despite it being completely serious, there were people at the formal laughing at me, telling me to 'ease up' or 'get off the floor' or even..." Kidd said.

    "Wait, get off the floor?" Soul asked.

    "I don't really want to talk about that," Kidd replied, blushing a bit out of embarrassment. "It hurt to hear their reactions, to know everyone thinks of it as a big joke…"

    "Hey, the symmetry kid's showed his face today!" some kid who just entered the classroom exclaimed, pointing at Kidd.

    "Dude, he's the principal's son, you probably shouldn't make fun of him like that," another kid who looked kind of like she was related to him added. "You know guys like that will tell and then you'll get in trouble or something."

    The two would-be hecklers went to their seats, as Soul and Maka gave them piercing glares.

    "For other reasons besides that incident with myself, it was probably a good thing you two weren't there," Kidd said. "I still can't get the image of what Ragnarok did out of my head," he added, staring off into the distance. Soul glanced off into the direction Kidd appeared to be staring in, before turning back to the conversation.

    "Well, Maka and I both didn't have dates," Soul said. "Nobody asked us, and we weren't really asking anybody, so..."

    "Soul, that's not true," Maka interjected, looking up a bit from her slump. Soul leaned in a bit closer to Maka, as Kidd turned to her direction.

    "Somebody asked you?" Kidd asked. "Or did you ask someone?"

    "Details!" Soul exclaimed, as Kilik entered the classroom and sat in his usual desk by Kidd.

    "Well, I was almost asked by somebody," Maka said.

    "Almost?" Kilik asked. He whispered something to Kidd, who whispered something back. Kilik nodded.

    "Well, if it weren't for Ms. Gorgon intervening at the last second, Crona was going to ask me," Maka replied.

    "Knew it," Kilik whispered to Kidd and Soul. Maka pretended not to hear him, feeling a tightness in her chest.

    "Would you have gone?" Kidd asked.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. Soul's expression turned to a sly grin.

    "So, what if the song was really slow, and the two of you were dancing really close, you were looking up at their face, gazing into their eyes, and, right as the lyrics in the song said 'I love you' or something along those lines, they brought their hand to your face, touching it gently, and then they kissed you right then and there?" Soul asked. Maka felt a blush creep across her face just thinking about that.

    "Soul, you're talking about someone who gets nervous when someone touches them on the shoulder," Kidd said.

    "Yeah, that doesn't seem like it would happen right away, especially in public," Maka added, trying to play it cool. _But still,_ she thought, her mind drifting. _What if?_ Maka started picturing herself at the formal with them, in Soul's exact scenario. Right as she got to the kiss, she was snapped back to reality by the sound of a backpack hitting the floor, and a small mutter of "aw..." She looked back up to see Crona, not in the slacks which would fit better for this time of year, but the skirt. Maka noticed how they seemed to look sicklier and skinnier. It had been gradual, but seeing the lower half of their legs, and how thin they had gotten, gave Maka an awful feeling.

    "Maka?" Crona asked, noticing how concerned Maka looked. "Are you okay?"

    "I..." Maka started, before taking a short pause. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

    "Okay, stop lying," Soul said, tugging at Maka's sleeve. "And even to Crona?" he asked. "If you're not OK, speak up."

    "That's rich coming from the guy who spent all of sixth grade bottling things up and pretending to only care about whether or not things were 'cool'," Maka replied. "It took over three years for me to find out you had a brother."

    "Oh my God," Kilik added. "You gonna take that, Evans?"

    "Don't call me that," Soul replied. "And yeah, guilty as charged, but Maka, you do really need to speak up," he added. "You got all quiet after I said that thing about the hypothetical scenario where Cro-" Soul stopped midway, after noticing Crona was sitting right there. "the crowbars, um..." Soul tried to save face with.

    "Crowbars?" Crona asked.

    "Nice save," Kilik added, chuckling.

    "Yeah, anyway, crowbars," Soul replied. "You know, crowbars."

    "No, it wasn't," Maka interjected, bringing her palm to her forehead. She got out some finished homework from her bag and set it on her desk. "And I'm fine," she added, right as the bell rang and Mr. Buttataki entered. He gave the class a quick greeting, and began to take roll.

 

    Lunch came at its usual time, and with all of Spartoi getting lunch hour at the same time on Mondays, a certain two tables pushed together became hectic.

    "So, Maka, is true what Mr. Albarn said?" Kim asked.

    "Oh come on," Hiro added. "It's all true, State's solos and the set list are going to be assigned today at practice."

     _I know you weren't getting any roles this time either,_ Maka thought, noticing how Crona seemed to be picking at their spaghetti. It was a normal occurrence for them to do so, but it worried Maka a bit more today. She went back to eating her ravioli, knowing that despite being a bit slow at first, Crona usually finished their lunch unless Ragnarok stole it. She heard a crunching noise, and saw Ragnarok eating what appeared to be a block of uncooked instant noodles _Why would he even bring those to school? There's no microwave anywhere except the teachers' lounge_.

    "I know Mr. Albarn's gonna pick me since I brought down the house at the preliminary," Black☆Star beamed.

    "WE brought down the house," Kidd interjected.

    "I hope it isn't me," Crona said. "I don't think I can deal with being in another competition, much less with a lead role."

    "Stop wussing out," Ragnarok snapped. "Jeez, you've been doing this since we were kids," he grumbled. "Oh, I can't deal with this, I don't know if I can deal with this, I can't do this, I'm too scared," Ragnarok said in a high-pitched whiny voice, in an attempt to mock Crona.

    "Stop it, I don't think I can d-d..." Crona replied, stopping themself. "Oh," they said. "D-do I really say that a lot?"

    "Yeah," Ragnarok replied, taking a forkful of Crona's spaghetti. "This is way better than my lousy instant noodles," he added, swapping Crona's plate with his instant noodle package. Maka looked over to see a chunk of uncooked instant noodles with a bite taken out of it. Crona poked the chunk with their fork, before pushing it away. Maka contemplated sharing a bit of her ravioli so Crona at least had something besides a few bites of spaghetti for lunch, and it appeared other students had similar ideas about other people for different reasons.

    "Hey Kim, you wanna eat this raviolo off my fork?" Ox asked.

    "Raviolo," Kim repeated, waiting for Ox's mishap to sink in.

    There was ten seconds of silence, as the whole table waited. In a rare moment for her, Patty held in her usual giggles. But anyone could've told by her face something was up.

    "I must go," Ox said, leaving the table, taking his "raviolo" with him.

    "Hey, Hiro," Soul jokingly added, holding a forkful of his pasta across the table towards Hiro.

    "No," Hiro replied. Maka stabbed another piece of her ravioli, bringing it up to her mouth, and taking another bite.

    "Come back here, Ox!" Patty, hearing his frustrated scream, called out. "This is your only opportunity to sit at the cool people table!" she added through a fit of giggles.

    "Is this the 'cool people table'?" Soul asked, turning to Maka.

    "Pfft, no," Maka replied."You're here," she jokingly added, before turning back to see Crona trying to stealth grab their spaghetti back with their plastic fork. Maka watched as the futility of their exercise became apparent, as Ragnarok moved the plate out of Crona's reach. They tried a last-ditch move, leaning in, hoping to catch some spaghetti, but instead they poked Ragnarok in the arm. Crona started frantically apologizing as Ragnarok's looming glare caught their eyes.

    "You little piece of shit!" Ragnarok shouted, elbowing Crona in the chest.

    "Calm down, Ragnarok, it was just an accident," Tsubaki interjected. "Crona, are you okay?" she asked.

    "He's done worse," Crona replied, pulling the dry instant noodles back to them, and attempting to break off the part Ragnarok had taken a bite out of. Crona then got poked in the arm with Ragnarok's plastic fork. They made no reaction, since it didn't break any skin.

    "There, now we're even," Ragnarok said, going back to eating his stolen spaghetti. _How'd Crona act as they didn't even feel it?_ Maka thought, eating another bite of her ravioli. _Hmm, maybe I should offer some to them,_ she thought, noticing them give up and just rotate the uncooked noodles. Crona tried to bite through it, but it proved tougher than Ragnarok made it look earlier. They set down the block of uncooked noodles

and stared at it intently, possibly trying to come up with a way to smash it into reasonably-sized chunks with the plastic fork or maybe the nearby salt shaker.

    "Maka, are you going to finish that, or are you just going to gaze at Crona this whole time?" Soul whispered.

    "I… Of course I'm going to finish that," Maka replied, taking another bite of her ravioli. She picked up another piece, before hearing the sound of a glass salt shaker being smashed into uncooked ramen noodles. Repeatedly.

    "Stop murdering the noodles," Black☆Star said, acting all fake-melodramatic. "Also you got more salt on them, they're probably going to taste terrible now," he added. Crona scooped up a bit of the smashed ramen with their fork and tried it.

    "It's a bit bland, actually," they said.

 

    The rest of the school day had nothing interesting of note happen until practice. Maka walked into the choir room, taking her usual seat. _Sweet, sweet confirmation,_ she thought, with everyone else taking their seats around her.

    "I just know he's going to pick me," Hiro said, elbowing Harvar.

    "We are not friends, why are you touching me?" Harvar asked, as Spirit entered the room.

    "Okay, who's excited for state finals?" Spirit asked. "Trick question, I know you all are," he added, not noticing Crona slump down into their seat. "I've got fifteen copies of our set list and the sheet music, and I'll be announcing the results of last week's solo audition today," Spirit said.

    "Thank you, thank you everyone," Black☆Star announced, getting out of his seat.

    "You didn't make the cut, I wanted to pick kids who haven't already been leads in our previous routines," Spirit replied. Black☆Star started boiling with rage.

    "I sang my heart out at that audition and you don't even put me in the running?" he asked, pointing at Spirit for emphasis.

    "Black☆Star, you arrived after I let everyone know that," Spirit began. "Not to mention how you just got up there and sang without any warning."

    "You're kidding me," Black☆Star replied, going out from the seating area and walking towards Spirit. "You could've at least told me," he said.

    "Black☆Star, I did after your au-"

    "You should have been clearer," Black☆Star said.

    "I was," Spirit replied. "As clear as I could be."

    "Why don't you fight me behind the school after practice is done?" Black☆Star asked. "Just fight me."

    Black☆Star was given a detention slip for "threatening to physically fight the assistant principal/his show choir coach".  After playing it off as a joke, he walked back over to the seats, still with the slip in his hand. _Papa, that was probably an overreach of your power,_ Maka thought.

    "Should I frame it?" Black☆Star whispered to Maka, pointing to his little pink slip.

    "If you want to, yeah," Maka replied.

    "Anyway, Spartoi," Spirit began, "the lead male singer is going to be Kilik," he said.

    "Yes," Kilik whispered to himself. Black☆Star sighed, but went to congratulate Kilik anyway.

    "And for the lead female, I couldn't decide between Maka and Tsubaki, so just like how we did the initial audition, we'll pick which one gets the lead role by your applause," Spirit added. "Maka, Tsubaki, why don't you two come up here?" he asked. Maka and Tsubaki got up from their seats and walked to the center of the room.

    "Here's the sheet music for 'A Boy Like That', you two decide amongst yourselves who gets which part, and you two can sing it as sort of a duel, and after you two are done, the others are gonna vote on which one of you is getting the lead female vocals," Spirit said, handing Maka and Tsubaki two copies of sheet music. Maka looked at hers, then back to Tsubaki. _Hmm, should I pick the Anita or Maria part? Tsubaki has the better soprano, so maybe she should take Maria's part. I don't see her as taking advantage of my relative inability to hold higher notes for too long, so she might go along with this plan._

    "Maka, I know Anita usually goes to the girl with the older-sounding voice, which would normally mean me, but if it's okay with you, I'd like to take Maria's part," Tsubaki said. _Holy crap, right on the mark._

    "That's just what I was going to suggest," Maka replied. Yes! Now I won't have to try and hold that long high note at the end, she thought. Maka and Tsubaki did a quick read-over of the sheet music. Tsubaki started doing a few vocal warmups, while Maka did another readthrough. Maka hummed the tune to herself, and set her sheet music back down on the table. She waited for Tsubaki to do the same, and took her position in the center of the room.

    "Good luck," Tsubaki said, smiling. "I'm sure whichever one of us gets the part would be a wonderful choice for the team," she added.

    "Starting up the instrumental," Spirit said, pressing a button on his docking station. The first few chords of music began to play, and Maka took a deep breath in preparation. She started singing the first few words, making sure to keep eye contact with the others watching from their seats. She tried to keep her voice as powerful as Liz did when she sang this song at the preliminary, but her voice was not the same mature-sounding type. It was just as loud and powerful, if not more, but Maka sounded obviously younger and a bit nasal. She started to notice that as she sang the final part of her initial verse, and calmly let Tsubaki take it from there. _Damn it, how'd I even get this far in the audition cycle anyway? Must be Papa's favoritism_ she thought, as Tsubaki began to sing. Tsubaki sounded really quiet without the microphone she had in her initial audition, and there were a few times where she was off by a half tone, but regardless of that, her voice was beautiful, like a soft-spoken angel had come down to earth. _Well, looks like there'll be a clear winner,_ Maka thought. _Even though it's not me,_ _I'm glad it's going to be Tsubaki, she deserves it, and her voice is amazing._

    "Hey, speak up!" Ragnarok shouted. "Those of us in the back can't hear you," he added. Tsubaki stopped for a second. _Oh no, please don't let it get to you,_ Maka thought. Tsubaki took a deep breath, and continued from where she left off, but abruptly increasing her volume. When louder, Tsubaki became more tone deaf, and the beauty in her voice became slightly overshadowed by her volume and pitch errors. _Nice going, you broke her._ Maka held out until the duet portion at the end, where to her dismay, Tsubaki tripped up on a word. And Maka went along with it. Both of them realized once the song was done that the word was messed up, and silently hoped that it wouldn't impact either of them too much.

    "I think we did well for an unrehearsed number, don't you think?" Tsubaki asked in hushed tones.

    "I'd say it's anyone's game," Maka replied.

    "Thank you, girls," Spirit said."Now, let's give it up for if you want my precious little daughter, Maka, to get the part," he added, clapping. _Papa, you're supposed to be impartial._

    Maka heard some clapping, and a few cheers, but what stuck out for her was Crona. They were cheering for her louder than she thought they even had the capacity to cheer for a person, though the actual volume was in line with everyone else's. _Aww,_ Maka thought. _Why can't they look this happy all the time?_ Oh, they're not sitting down, even though everyone else is. _Okay, you can stop now, it's getting embarrassing,_ Maka thought, looking directly at them with a little smile.

    "Looks like you got a little standing ovation," Tsubaki whispered. "Wait, Maka, are you blushing?"

    "What? No," Maka replied, covering her face a bit. "Am I?"

    "Okay, now give a big hand to Tsubaki!" Spirit said. He still clapped, but nowhere near as much as he did with Maka. _Well, at least he's **trying** to look impartial,_ Maka thought, looking back over to the crowd. _Hmm, seems to be the same level as mine,_ she thought as she scanned the crowd. _I don't want us to have to do another tiebreaker_.

    "Okay, seems to be about fifty-fifty," Spirit said.

    "We can offer to split the part if it's okay with you, Maka," Tsubaki whispered.

    "Maybe we should," Maka whispered back. She turned to Spirit. "Hey, Papa?" Maka asked. "Is it okay if you give both of us part of the vocals?"

    "Considering this seems to be another stalemate, I guess we'll have to if we don't want to keep hosting tiebreakers," Spirit replied. He sighed. "Okay, seems to be another tie, but we've ran out of time to do another tiebreaker, so Maka and Tsubaki are going to split the lead female vocals. Everyone come up here and take a set list."

    "Well, I guess this'll all work out," Tsubaki said. "We get to spend time together rehearsing, learn all our lyrics together, we'll be able to catch up on all the time we missed as friends since my freshman year!" she added. _You planned this, didn't you?_

    "Yeah, too bad you didn't see scene phase Soul at school," Maka replied. "I have photos, if you thought the two times you saw him in person then weren't bad enough," she added.

    "I will pay you money to not show her those!" Soul shouted.

    "Oh, don't worry, Soul," Tsubaki replied. "I'm not interested in your scene phase that much anyway."

    "What's 'scene' and why is Soul denying it so much?" Crona asked. A glint appeared in Maka and Black☆Star's eyes. Soul could sense this, and he started planning disaster escapes in his head.

    "Gather round, Crona," Black☆Star said. "Maka and I have a great story to tell."

    "Story?" Crona asked, a look of intrigue spreading across their face.

    "Okay, so in seventh grade, right in the same month as yearbook picture day," Maka started, before Soul put a hand over her mouth.

    "Twenty bucks you don't say another word," he said. Maka lifted Soul's hand off her face.

    "Black☆Star's already showing Crona some pictures on his phone," Maka replied, pointing at the exchange.

    "Goddamn it, Black☆Star," Soul groaned. He looked down to see Crona holding the phone, staring at it with strange fascination.

    "Wow," they said. Soul yanked the phone from them and handed it back to Black☆Star.

    "Nobody else sees those photos," Soul said, exiting the choir room. Black☆Star shrugged his shoulders, and put his phone away.

    "Why'd Soul leave? Practice isn't over yet," Harvar said.

    "Two words," Maka replied. "Scene phase," she added, looking back at her set list. _Huh, these are the songs Papa and I played on Rock Band last night. "Walking on Sunshine" and "Bad Reputation"? Is this a coincidence?_

    "Papa, we literally did these two songs last night playing Rock Band," Maka said, pointing to her paper.

    "I came up with the set list on the car ride here, don't judge me," Spirit replied. "But you do already know how to sing 'Walking on Sunshine' really well," he added.

    "Yeah, we're judging you," Harvar grumbled.

    "I call 'Bad Reputation'!" Kilik shouted.

    "Doesn't a girl originally sing that?" Ox asked.

    "Show choir does gender flips all the time," Kilik said. "A boy was doing half of 'Beauty School Dropout' from that correctional school's routine, and the public school had a girl doing the lead on a boy band song from the 90's. Hell, if they auditioned, we could've even had a nonbinary kid doing a song originally sang by someone presumably from the binary."

    "I know Maka's gonna want to do 'Walking on Sunshine' again since she had so much fun playing it last night," Spirit added. "So Tsubaki, that means you're going to have to duet with her. Is that okay?"

    "Of course it is," Tsubaki replied.

    "Forgot my bag," Soul added, walking back in the choir room.

    "Get in here," Spirit ordered. "I'm going to line everyone up for beginning choreography," he added.

    "Got it, we'll go by height, right?" Kim replied. After Spirit gave a nod of approval, Maka went over to the far left of the room, followed by Kim, then Black☆Star, Kidd, Patty, Soul, Ox, Kilik, Jackie, Hiro, Crona, Harvar, Liz, Tsubaki, and Ragnarok. Spirit started to play the beginning of "Walking on Sunshine", and choreography finally began.

    

    Once practice finished up, Maka walked back down the locker hall to get her bag out. She had the intent of just getting her bag out of her locker and going off to the bus, and would have done just so, if it weren't for Crona following her down the hall. They were trembling a bit as they stood in front of their locker, turning the combination lock to its proper numbers. A look of concern spread across Maka's face.

    "I don't think I can tell her," Crona whispered, apparently to themself. _Such a vague conversation starter_ , Maka thought. _Well, I guess I'll have to see what's up_.

    "Tell who what?" Maka asked. Crona jumped back and made a small noise of surprise, before turning around to look at Maka. They clung onto their arm yet again, the little color they had seeming to drain from their face.

    "I've been the only other person here this whole time, in fact, you followed me," Maka added. "I mean, who else could you be talking to?" she asked, smiling in order to make the situation seem more casual.

    "I was talking to myself," Crona replied. "Didn't think you could hear me," they added, looking down at the floor.

    "Oh, okay," Maka said, thinking she should then try to relieve the tension by changing the subject a bit. "Let me guess, when you were trying to ask me to the formal last Friday, you weren't just asking as a friend?"

    Crona blushed a bit, their eyes widening. They took a deep breath.

    "Um, that... wasn't what I was thinking," Crona replied, their eyes getting slightly teary. "But how did you know?" they asked. A fluttery feeling in her chest overtook Maka for a half-second, as she quickly recounted Crona's behaviour over the past few months.

    "In hindsight, it was pretty obvious," Maka said. "Come on, don't cry," she added, noticing the tears in Crona's eyes. "I'm completely okay with it."

    "You are?" Crona asked.

    "Of course! Sometimes friends get crushes on each other, no big deal," Maka replied. "Same thing happened to me in sixth grade," she added, approaching Crona to give them a hug. "I'm not going to stop being your friend if you like me romantically." Maka felt Crona hug her back, and the two soon made it more of an embrace. Maka felt like this was more than just reassurance she was giving, but she did not mind. She took in the satisfying feeling that came from the two of them holding each other so close, as she lay her head down on their shoulder. Due to half a foot of height difference, this was an easy task.

    "Thank you, I was kind of worried things would get weird between us, and you'd stop being my friend," Crona replied, using one hand to wipe away the tears still in their eyes. "I don't want us to grow apart."

    "We're not going to grow apart, I promise," Maka replied. Looking up from where her head lay on Crona's shoulder, Maka noticed something in their ear. _Wait, is that an earpiece? Does that mean they were talking to whoever was on the other end? And that it wasn't about a crush at all? Did they just lie to me?_ Maka heard the click-clack of high-heeled shoes approaching as their wearer walked down the hallway.

    "Lady Medusa! I was just-"

    "I can't believe my own child would be caught up in PDA," Medusa hissed. "With the assistant principal's perfect little straight-A-student daughter, no less."

    "It's just a hug," Maka protested. _Of course, I might not want to mention the context..._

    "Still affection, still in public," Medusa replied. "But don't worry, Miss Albarn, I won't punish you," she added. "Crona, however..."

    Medusa grabbed Crona by the arm and pulled them close by her. She leaned in close to Crona's ear, not the one with the suspected earpiece in it, and whispered something to them. Whatever it was, Maka couldn't hear it. But judging by how Crona flinched and gave Maka a nervous look afterwards, Maka knew it wasn't a good thing.

    "Well?" Medusa asked.

    "I'll do it, I swear," Crona mumbled in reply. "Someday."

    "Someday isn't enough, look how suspicious she is," Medusa said, ushering Crona along with her as she walked off. Maka was unsure, but she thought she saw something in Medusa's ear as well.


	12. Chapter 12

    "Great job!" Tsubaki cheered. She and Maka were alone in the choir room on a drizzly Tuesday after school, making the most of their limited practice time. A set list just designed the previous day, with barely two months to practice it, was not the most ideal situation for the two girls to be in. This was not a dramatized television program, but reality. Spartoi had managed to scrape together a win at the preliminaries, but the state final has more opponents, higher stakes, and they were not getting a home turf advantage this time.

    "That was only the first chorus," Maka replied, pausing the music.

    "It's been one day, and yet you're already so good at your lyrics," Tsubaki said. "Maka, I'm proud of you for that," she added, walking up to her and giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

    "Thank 'Rock Band 2'," Maka replied. "I swear, if it weren't for Papa playing that so much with me over the summer, I would be nowhere near as good at singing 'Walking on Sunshine' as I am now," she added. _So many grueling nights. I wish we had more than two controllers, so we could have invited some of my friends to make it a little less horrible. Knowing Papa, he would probably invite Dr. Stein and Miss Mjolnir, maybe Coach Blair on the nights when I'm at Mama's._

    "Meanwhile I just can't get the bridge right, but I know I can work at it," Tsubaki lamented. "We only have until the end of January to practice before State, and two weeks of that will be spent on winter break."

    "Well, we are getting a few more practice sessions during the break," Maka replied. "Don't know whether they're gonna be at school or the rec center again though," she added. The choir room door opened, and two seniors, a boy and a girl, entered with mischievous grins. Upon seeing Maka and Tsubaki, they immediately left. Maka watched as they ran down the hallway, before turning back around to face Tsubaki.

    "Wait, when we're not practicing, do people use this room for making out?" Maka asked, closing the door back to just a crack.

    "Yes, I guess it was more of a thing with the older students than the freshmen," Tsubaki replied. "It was a really popular makeout spot for juniors and seniors during my freshman year, but not as much when I was a sophomore, ever since the teachers began catching on during the great PDA crackdown," she added. "But never mind all that, I'm going to start doing my part if it's okay with you."

    "We did come here to practice," Maka added, as Tsubaki started up the music. The opening guitar bit played, and Tsubaki soon started singing, trying to keep her volume at the soft tones she currently sang best in so she was more likely to stay on pitch. _Come on Tsubaki, face your fears,_ Maka thought. _I can and I will help you work on your pitch when you're louder._ Tsubaki started increasing her volume on the bridge and chorus, but the louder she got, the more tone-deafness became apparent. Tsubaki stopped the music after she was done with the first chorus and sighed, the sound of her breath echoing a bit across the now-quiet choir room.

    "Should I continue?" she asked.

    "Yeah, you sounded pretty good, just when you sing the big _'whoa-oa'_ , you gotta watch your pitch as you go into _'I'm gonna feel good'_ ," Maka replied. "More like this," she added, taking a deep breath. Maka belted out the _'whoa-oa'_ as loud as she could, before in an instant, hitting the notes for the next lyrics with a clear, strong voice.

    "All right, here goes," Tsubaki said, before attempting to repeat how Maka did the song. Her voice broke at the last bit. Tsubaki coughed, before getting out her water bottle and taking a sip. She cleared her throat, and tried again, this time not breaking at the end.

    "Good, good," Maka nodded. "Pitch was still a bit off, but I know you can do better," she added.

    "Okay, third time's a charm," Tsubaki said. Her voice hit from silvery to shrill in half a second. She knew the headset mics were volume adjustable, so she could just turn hers up to avoid her problem, but not only would that be a form of cheating, this was not a song that fit her ideal sotto voce, requiring more power than she could allow for without her tone breaking. Perhaps being in the lead was not the best fit for Tsubaki or her voice, a girl perhaps destined to be a supporting character even in her own life. No, it will not be like that at all. It would take time to improve, and she knew she had the patience for it. She, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, was sure she could be able to do this. A life without challenges is not a life that is worthwhile, and this little camelia refused to fall quietly without a scent. Or a sound in this case. Tsubaki thought to herself, _I will improve,_ and tried a fourth time to get the transition right.

    Her voice did not break, staying roughly on-pitch throughout the whole verse.

    "How was that?" Tsubaki asked. She could control her voice breaking for this one part, now to eliminate any trace of it for the rest.

    "Great!" Maka replied. "If you keep up like that for the rest of the song, you'll have the state final in the palm of your hand," she added, smiling. "There's no way you won't be able to." Maka got out her water bottle and took a few sips while it was still relatively cool, while Tsubaki kept practicing without a musical backup this time.

    Listening to Tsubaki's voice one-on-one felt very peaceful and special for Maka. The angelic, silvery sound before the tone-deafness kicked in had a calming effect on her, and it made her feel like she could just listen forever to its soft tones, regardless of whether they fit the song. Until Tsubaki derailed, and her pitch stopped working as well. _She still sounds sort of good, though,_ Maka thought, drinking another sip of her water, as it adjusted to the room temperature and became lukewarm.

    Tsubaki stopped singing and sighed. The brief moments of her determination temporarily faltered, almost as if they were linked with her voice. Tsubaki knew she could fix it in time for State, but there was still the possibility that it would not stop, and she was doomed like her floral namesake to fall quietly, like nobody would have ever even noticed her when she bloomed.

    "I could really hear it deteriorate this time after the second verse," she said. "What'll she think?"

    "Is this about Liz?" Maka asked, with a minute tilt of the head.

    "I know it's really silly, but..." Tsubaki started, walking up to Maka. She glanced to check whether anyone was at the door. When she was sure nobody currently was, she spoke. "I'm worried what she'll think since I'm such an awful singer. What if her heart's really set in winning State and I blow it? Do you think that could affect our relationship?"

    "What? No," Maka replied. leaning in towards Tsubaki. "I don't know her as well as you do, but I'm sure that's not going to be the case," she added. "You guys have been dating since midway through last year, right?"

    "Mhm," Tsubaki replied. Maka didn't know Liz nearly as well, not even meeting her until the school year started. But they've gotten along well since then, so she figured this wasn't a make-it-or-break-it issue.

    "And is Liz really that petty as to get into a dump-worthy fight over how well you sing?" Maka asked. "I haven't had much experience with relationships, but I'm pretty sure you two won't break over that."

    "I know, it is really silly to think that," Tsubaki sighed.

    "No, no, it's normal to have fears, they're what help us get stronger," Maka replied. "Plus, I know you two. Even if this did cause fighting, you'd make it through. I mean for Pete's sake, you're still in the honeymoon stage with her after eight months."

    "I know, I could feel myself blushing when she cheered me on after our tiebreaker, you know, similar to how you blushed when you got that standing ovation from a certain pink-haired someone," Tsubaki replied, with an implied "wink wink nudge nudge" in her stare that Maka could sense just by looking at her.

    "Hold on, I'm sure this is different, I mean, you're comparing us to you and your girlfriend, but I... I wasn't even blushing back there," Maka said, crossing her arms in a fruitless denial. T _hat proves nothing, regardless of whether I blushed that day. And even if I did, it was probably because I was embarrassed at getting a standing ovation after such an impromptu number. Not because... oh shit,_ Maka thought, recalling how she'd been feeling around Crona these past few months. Thinking about this, she got a feeling like she might end up blushing all over again. _Have I been reciprocating their feelings without even knowing it?_

    "Yes you were blushing," Tsubaki replied. "It was really cute," she added.

    "Anyway," Maka began, taking a few steps back over to the music player and preparing to turn "Walking on Sunshine" back on, "I like Crona too much to dive into a relationship with them really fast before I even fully knew if I liked them in that way."

    "Well, I guess you wouldn't want to turn something beautiful into a disaster," Tsubaki replied.

    "Yeah," Maka said, nearly missing her cue for the first verse.

    She hurried to sing the first line, and paced herself until she got back on rhythm with the song's lyrics. _Wait, if possibly blushing at Crona's standing ovation really was evidence of a budding crush... no Maka, you have to focus on the song._ She did a little twirl in with the beat, just for fun, using that as a to hopefully try and regain her focus. But her chorus slipped as a few memories unintentionally flooded into her head.

     _Still_ , Maka thought, as the images fully entered her brain, _wrapping my arms around Crona, and holding them close when they're sad, damn it, focus, Maka! Don't think about that rare and precious little smile, or the moments when we're close together, almost gazing into each other's eyes even for half a second. Or the way you've seen them look at you when they don't think you're looking back, and how adorable that look is. As well as how adorable they look when they're flustered and blushy. And especially do not think of how you nearly fantasized about kissing them. More than once. Damn, I'm thinking about it. Thank you brain, and damn you._

    "Maka, aren't the lyrics 'and I don't wanna spend all my life just in waiting for you', not 'and I don't wanna spend all my life just... damn you'?" Tsubaki asked. _I said that out loud._ "Who are you even damning?"

    "My own brain," Maka replied, pausing the music. "Don't ask why," she added, restarting the peppy, joyful-sounding track. _I'm pretty sure I can get through the entire song today._ Maka started the first verse, trying to focus on the song, and only the song. She had to be serious about this, there was no time to think about whether or not she was unknowingly developing a crush on anyone, especially not a friend that may need her help with something. Were they still afraid of their own mother? Maka wasn't entirely sure, since Crona was keeping that subject quiet ever since the preliminaries ended. Focusing on only the song, Maka began the bridge, again doing that little twirl. Maybe she would incorporate that little twirl in her routine if her costume involved a skirt.

    But just before she got to singing the first chorus, she heard a knock on the door. Maka paused the music, thoughts racing through her head at breakneck speed. _I wonder who that could be? A teacher coming to kick us out for using the choir room when we're not on club time, and therefore not supposed to be in here? Ms. Yumi would certainly do that, and so would Mr. Buttataki. Or worse, it could be Papa, coming in because he heard my voice, and there is no doubt he would then say or do something embarrassing._

    There was another knock.

    "Come in," Tsubaki said. The door opened to reveal Soul. There was a bruise, likely fresh, on his face.

    "Hey," he said, walking in.

    "What happened?" Tsubaki asked.

    "I hit the corner of the door frame on the way out of class," Soul replied. "How'd you notice?"

    "I thought someone punched you, considering that bruise," Maka said.

    "Bruise?" Soul asked. "Well, that explains how my face is feeling right now," he added. His phone started ringing. "Gotta take this, it's my parents," Soul said, walking back out into the hallway. There was soon a very audible "yeah, what?" from his mouth.

    "Should we get back to practicing?" Maka asked.

    "He's right outside the door, we might disturb the call," Tsubaki replied, sitting down in one of the many chairs. Maka sat down in another one and took a few sips from her now-completely lukewarm water bottle. She looked over at the stain of marinara sauce on the back of the chair, and wondered a bit as to how it got there.

    "Who even eats in here?" Maka asked, pointing to the stain. "This is marinara sauce, right?"

    "I don't know," Tsubaki replied. "Looks like paint to me," she added, glancing over at the stain.

    "There's flecks of basil," Maka stated.

    "Oh, I couldn't see them from here," Tsubaki replied, walking over. "It doesn't have much of an odor, so it's probably been there a while," she noted.

    "I wonder if there's anyone we know who'd eat it," Maka thought out loud, as Soul returned, with a big grin on his face.

    "Wes is taking the judging gig," Soul beamed. "He's moving over there to crash with a friend this weekend, so I guess he's gonna be gone."

    "And we still haven't even met him," Maka grumbled. I _really wanted to meet Soul's brother at least once,_ she thought. _Actually see whether he's as horrible and obnoxious as Soul says he is._

    "Finally, after forty-seven years," Soul said.

    "You're fourteen," Tsubaki replied, not fully getting the joke.

    "Finally, after practically an entire semester plus last July," Soul groaned. "There," he added. "But it doesn't matter now, because I only have to deal with him for the rest of the week. And since my family's rich enough to hire a bunch of people to help him move, I don't even have to worry about that."

    "What did Wes even do to deserve your hatred?" Maka asked.

    "Exist," Soul replied. "Wes is the worst, just like I told you guys at the beginning of the year," Soul added. "But you're an only child, you wouldn't understand what an older brother's like."

    "I'm sure you don't have the worst older brother of all our friends," Maka said.

    "Other than Tsubaki here, whose brother's acting dickishly nonexistant, I'm the only one with an older brother," Soul replied. "I mean, Kilik _is_ a damn good older brother to Fire and Thunder, and Ragnarok is Crona's cousin, not their brother," he added. "Come to think of it, Principal Morte's called Kidd his favorite child, implying Kidd has at least one sibling, so I might be wrong."

    Tsubaki went quiet for a few seconds.

    "My brother's in jail for attempted murder," she said, looking down to the floor. She clenched and released her fist as if she was going to say something else, but did not, keeping silent.

    "Oh," Soul replied. "Sorry."

    "It's fine," Tsubaki said, forcing a smile.

 

    There was a long silence, lasting for what felt like nearly two whole minutes.

 

    "So, you two were practicing?" Soul asked, finally breaking it.

    "Yes," Maka replied.

    "I'll back you guys up, just let me do some vocal warmups," Soul said, walking over to the other side of the choir room. He started to do some scales, until he figured his rough voice was viable enough.

    "Okay Tsubaki, we'll do a run of your verse first," Maka said. "Don't worry, Soul and I are here to back you up."

    "I'm not worried about that," Tsubaki replied. "Just... what if you guys drown me out?"

    "Then sing louder, who cares how you sound when you do it?" Soul asked. "Enough voices'll muddle it, that's why I wasn't called out during any of our practice."

    "You weren't called out because Ragnarok sounds like a sick goat going through a meat grinder alive," Maka interjected. "While being choked," she added. "Compared to that you sound pretty good."

    "You mean 'pretty _cool_ ,' right?" Soul asked.

    "Just get to practicing," Maka groaned. She walked back over to the music player, restarted "Walking On Sunshine", and the three teens began practicing what was already choreographed of the number so far. It was painfully obvious after a few tries that Soul didn't yet know the words for his backup part.

    "Soul, you're still getting the words wrong," Maka said.

    "Well what do you expect?" Soul asked after being notified of this. "It's been only a day and I wasn't the one given the lead role," he added. "And yet you're going at me for not having perfect memorization skills? So uncool, Maka. So uncool."

    "No need to get so defensive, I was just reminding you that you keep getting a lyric wrong," Maka replied.

    "Um, guys, please don't fight again," Tsubaki interjected.

    "Again?" Soul asked. "When have we fought before?"

    "You did bicker a lot in middle school," Tsubaki replied. "I am not going to stand here while you guys end up fighting like that again, except now you're both in high school and should be more mature." she added. Maka made a small "hmmph," as Tsubaki walked back to the music player.

 

    The three of them kept practicing and practicing until the bell finally rang. Soul was the first to pick up his bag and open the door.

    "See you two on the bus," he said, leaving the room.

    "I've got to head on as well, I had a good time practicing with you guys!" Tsubaki beamed, walking out of the choir room towards the locker halls. Maka joined her, having put her own bag in her locker as well. The two of them made their way down the hall, their footsteps joining those of the students who were leaving their clubs, creating a mixed-up and out-of-tune rhythm down Shibusen Academy's many halls. Tsubaki split off from Maka at the juniors' locker halls, and after a quick "see you on the bus" from both girls to each other, Maka was off down to the freshmen's halls. She walked down the short way past the sophomores' halls, noticing Patty and Jackie talking about something as they exited their hall. Maka didn't stop to chat, instead walking right past the sophomore halls. Right when Maka nearly reached the freshmen's hall, she nearly bumped into Kilik as he left with his bag.

    "Crona's waiting back there, they told me it was important, and I had to go get you," Kilik said. "Poor kid was on the verge of tears," he added as he left earshot. Maka stopped walking for a second, feeling a pang in her chest. She took a few more steps into the halls to see Crona standing alone in front of their locker, shutting the door. Maka gave a quick wave to acknowledge their presence before walking over to her own locker and taking out her backpack. She slung it onto her shoulders, before turning around.

    "Maka, I have to tell you something," Crona said. They nervously looked around to make sure nobody else was there.

    "What is it?" Maka asked. _Kilik was right, they do look like they're about to cry._ Maka walked up to Crona, noticing the slip of paper they were holding in their left hand. Crona handed Maka the paper and mouthed the words "look at it". Maka held the piece of paper up and scanned the words, written in the blue ink of a cheap ballpoint pen.

 

     _"Read the other side once I'm done talking."_

 

    Maka nodded her head in understanding. She knew this was going to be serious, but why was Crona feeling a need to give her a note about it? Maka almost turned it around, but she hesitated.

    "Why I'm afraid," Crona replied, lowering their voice to a hushed tone. "Afraid of Lady Medusa," they added, even though they knew it needed no clarification.

    "I knew what you've given me so far wasn't the only reason," Maka said, getting a bit closer to Crona. "Please, if there's any way I can help, I want to know," she added, putting her hands on Crona's shoulders.

    "Help?" Crona asked. "I'm not sure if there's anything you can do about it," they added, their voice shaking as tears formed in their eyes. "It feels like she's been constantly watching me, and that everything I do has become wrong in her eyes, and I don't know why, but I'm sure I deserve it. I can't stand up for her, since she's my mother, and she says she's doing this all for for my own good and that she knows best. She's probably just trying to make sure I still trust her regardless of whether she trusts me. I can't even be in my own home without feeling horribly nervous, like the whole world is closing in around me. I'm not sure I'm even supposed to be talking to you like this."

    "What?" Maka asked, her eyes widening in fear. This was similar to what they had already told her, probably for safety reasons, but this time they were a lot more emotional, which was alarming.

    "I don't think I can deal with it anymore," Crona replied. They tapped the note with their thumb. Maka turned it around and read what was written.

 

    _"I couldn't say this in person, but she's also starving me. She said to tell you I was doing that to myself, but I couldn't. I know just by telling you what I could and leaving out what she wanted, it'll get worse for me. Please, make sure I'm still okay a week from now. I just want to live without any more fear, but I can't."_

 

    Maka stared at the note in disbelief. _How? How could someone willingly treat their child like this? And "please make sure I'm still okay a week from now?" That's so... so... shit, I don't have any words right now_ , Maka thought. A teardrop hit the note, smudging the writing, and Maka could tell it was from her. She threw her arms around Crona, holding them as close as she possibly could. The note fluttered to the floor, brushing up against Maka's foot as it hit the ground.

    "I'll make sure you're still okay," she said. "I'm going to help you get out of this, I promise." By that point, Maka's voice had become crackly with tears.

    "Do I deserve to get out?" Crona asked. _What? Why would someone think this way?_ Crona leaned really close in to Maka and put a hand over one of their ears. "She's my mother, I'm not sure… I… I can't leave her," they whispered into Maka's ear. "I have nowhere else to go."

    "I'm sure we can remedy that, and I'm here for you, okay?" Maka whispered back. _Ms. Gorgon must be watching them right now somehow. Wait, they covered their ear. She must have a listening device._ "She's listening to us, isn't she, Crona?" Maka asked.

    "Mhm," Crona replied. "I think the battery died since I haven't heard her for a few hours, but either way she's going to be furious," they added. Maka could feel their body tremble against hers, shaking with fear at the thought of what Medusa must have planned to do if this happened. _First thing when I get home, I'm calling child services on Ms. Gorgon. And next time I see her, I'm going to have to try really hard to resist all urges to punch her in the fucking face._

    "When did all this start?" Maka asked.

    "She's been like this for as long as I can remember," Crona replied. _Okay, now I'm going to have to try really hard not to break Ms. Gorgon's fucking neck_. "I can't take it much longer," Crona said.

    "I will end her," Maka grumbled. "Or at the very least, let her know how horrible of a person she truly is for treating you like this, and making you feel so hopeless you think you deserve it," she added. "I love you, and I absolutely cannot let this stand any longer. Trust me, I will find a way to help you get out of this."

    Crona put their hand down from their ear and hugged Maka back, even if it was just with one arm due to Maka accidentally crushing the other one against them.

    "Maka, nobody's..." Crona started, before the sound of rapid footsteps echoed into the hall, growing louder and louder.

    "Maka, the bus is about to leave!" Soul shouted. "If you run, you can make-whoa..." he added, looking over at the scene. "Why are you two hugging each other and crying?" Soul asked.

    "Long story," Crona sighed, letting go of Maka. "You should probably go, I'd hate for you to be stuck here," they added, wiping the tears and snot off their face.

    "I don't have to go just yet," Maka replied, sniffling a bit. "I can get Papa to drive me home."

    "Yeah, and he'd have to drive me too unless we hurry our asses up," Soul added. "Come on," he said, pulling Maka off from what remained of the hug.

    "I'll call you as soon as I get home," Maka said. "We'll devise a plan, okay?" she asked, picking up the note from the floor.

    "If we can," Crona replied. "Otherwise, I'll hopefully see you tomorrow, okay?"

    "Okay," Maka replied, quickly turning to catch up with Soul, who had gotten a head start.

 

    The two of them ran down the halls as fast as their legs could carry them, until they reached the parking lot to find the last bus already leaving campus.

    "No, no, no, no, no, aw, crap," Soul groaned.

    "Great, now I'm going to have to get Papa to stop by Evans Manor unless one of your parents is willing to pick you up," Maka said.

    "Fat chance, the limo driver's already took Wes to sign the deal on his new place in Vegas," Soul replied. "And my parents are too proud-rich to drive anywhere," he added. Maka got out her phone and started texting Spirit to get out to the parking lot to drive her and Soul back to their respective homes.

    "So you missed the bus because of a boy?" Spirit's message read. He then sent an angry face emoji.

    "No," Maka texted back. "Long story, actually involved Crona. Get out here."

    "Hey, Maka," Soul began. "What the hell was up with all the hugging and crying back there?" he asked. _How do I say this?_ _Screw it, I'll just get right to the point._

    "Ms. Gorgon's been abusing and neglecting Crona right under our noses this whole time," Maka replied. "I'm going to try and help Crona get the hell out of there."

    "Holy shit," Soul said, as Medusa walked out of the school's entrance doors, dragging Crona with her by the ear. "Should I flip her off?" Soul whispered. "I know it's not enough retribution, but hey, it's a start," he added with a cocky grin.

    "Do it," Maka replied. Soul immediately showed off to Medusa both his middle fingers.

    "What did I do, Soul?" Crona retaliated with, mistakenly believing the gesture was meant for them.

    "Not meant for you, sorry!" Soul called out. He gave Maka a wince of "oh shit, I messed up."

    "Solomon Evans, you are still on school property!" Medusa shouted. "If I wasn't about to leave, I'd make sure you were punished for this!" After those words, she stormed off to her white sedan and got in, Crona resigning themself to the passenger seat. The sedan drove right out of the parking lot, barely under the speed limit. Maka could almost feel herself shaking at the dread of what was going to happen in the Gorgon household that night.

    "You think maybe I made it worse?" Soul asked, right as Spirit left the building, approaching Maka and Soul.

    "You guys ready to go?" Spirit asked.

    "Yeah," Soul replied, texting his parents about the unforeseen event of Spirit driving him home.

    "I... I call shotgun," Maka added, sounding far more trembly than her usual "I call shotgun" voice. She walked with Spirit and Soul back to Spirit's car, and the three of them sat down into their respectively chosen seats. Spirit driving, Maka in the passenger seat, and Soul sitting in the back all by himself, save for his and Maka's backpacks.

    "Maka, is there something wrong?" Spirit asked, eyeing the concerned look on his daughter's face. There was a pause before Maka replied, as thoughts ran through her head about the Gorgon situation.

 

    "Papa, you don't happen to know the number for the town's child protective services, do you?"


	13. Chapter 13

    "Child protective services?" Spirit shouted, so shocked that he hit the brakes right as they got onto the main road.

    "Gas! Hit the gas!" Soul shouted. He looked out the window. "Thank God that other car stopped, holy crap," he added.

    "Is everyone okay?" Spirit asked.

    "Yeah," Maka and Soul replied in unison. A car horn honked at them and Spirit decided to get back to driving.

    "And why are you asking about child protective services, Maka?" Spirit asked. "Did your mother do something?"

    "No, she hasn't," Maka replied. "This isn't even about me, it's for a friend," she added. She cringed internally at the way she said it. _Great, I said it like when kids on bad TV shows say "a friend" when they really mean themselves._

    "Who's this 'friend'?" Spirit asked, fulfilling Maka's expectation of what would happen next.

    "It's Crona," Maka replied. "Ms. Gorgon's been starving them," she added. "I'll hand you the note they gave me at the next red light."

    The look on Spirit's face was so shocked, it made it seem like he was going to have a heart attack. The next red light came, and Maka handed her father the note. His eyes widened in horror at reading the words, before squinting at the bit smudged by Maka's single tear. Once he had confidently read that word, he just stared at the note, slack-jawed in disbelief, even as the light turned green. An impatient driver honked his horn, the same one that honked it earlier.

    "Mr. Albarn," Soul began. "The light."

    "Oh, yeah," Spirit replied. "Does Soul know?" he whispered to Maka.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. "Ragnarok might too, but he sure hasn't done anything about it," she added, as Spirit got the car moving again. He kept asking questions about the entire conversation with Crona, and Maka answered with every detail she could.

   "Looks like we've got what could possibly be a serious case of child abuse on our hands," Spirit said. "I bet this note alone is enough evidence for child services to investigate the Gorgons. I'm sure after an investigation, Crona'll be out of there and Medusa's gonna at least lose her job. Hell, if this is as severe as Crona's made it out to be, that woman's gonna be going to jail. In fact, I'm going to look up the number and call child services as soon as I finish dropping you two off and get home."

    "Would I get jail time for punching Ms. Gorgon?" Soul asked.

    "If she presses charges, most likely, unless the Evans family's got some seriously good lawyers," Spirit replied. "As your assistant principal, I do not condone you doing that," he added. "But as a horrified father, I'd want you to let me know so I can watch."

 

    The next day, Maka entered English class to see Soul, Kidd, and Kilik exchanging notes like nothing was wrong. But she could see the trembling look in Soul's eyes of someone with plenty of concern, maybe like he lost a bit of sleep over it. Speaking of lost sleep, Maka felt she had to drink three cups of coffee just to make it to school today. It wasn't just the lack of sleep that drained her, it was the feeling of horror and concern over what was happening under her nose, and across the street. What else was being hidden from her, from everyone? Maka sat down in her seat, in a noticeably despairing mood.

    "Maka, can I see your notes on last week's assignment?" Kilik asked.

    "Everything's okay with you, right?" Maka asked in return. "With Kidd as well?"

    "Yeah, I'm fine," Kilik replied. "And Fire and Thunder are doing great, too, they're starting to read simple chapter books instead of just picture books," he added. "Without help even."

    "I'm as okay as I've ever been," Kidd said, adjusting his tie. "Patty kept me up on the phone for an hour last night, so I didn't get to wake up at exactly the time I wanted to this morning, but other that that, I'm fine."

    "And I'm good, thanks for asking," Soul grumbled, as Maka handed Kilik her notes to compare with his.

    "How the hell are you able to write this much and still pay attention in class?" Kilik asked, admiring Maka's handiwork, right as Crona came in and sat down at their usual seat. They clearly had a busted lip, and they looked as if they were covering up something on the back of their left hand.

    "Your lip," Kidd said, immediately noticing. Soul, Kilik, and Maka turned to look at Crona. Crona's bottom lip was definitely swollen and looked bruised on one side. _Did someone hurt them?_ Maka thought, a horrifying realization hitting her.

    "Did Ragnarok do that?" Kilik asked. Another pang of fear went through Maka. _What if it wasn't Ragnarok, but Medusa?_

    "Um..." Crona replied, trying to cover up the bruise with their left hand. "Yes?"

    "Did you just cover up a bruised lip with a bruised hand?" Soul asked.

    "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Maka asked. "How did this happen? When did this happen? Who did this to you, because I swear, when I find that lowlife scum of the earth, I'll..."

    "Calm down, Maka," Soul said, interrupting her. "I thought you'd know more than anyone that Crona needs their space."

    "It's all right, really," Crona replied. "I, uh, just tripped over a shoe on my bedroom floor last night, and I... I hit my lip on the corner of my dresser," they added. Kilik gave a wince of sympathy.

    "I know how that feels," he said. "Don't worry, it'll heal on its own within a few days."

    "That's a relief," Crona sighed.

    "That's one hell of a dresser, though," Soul said. "Looks like you were punched in the face, actually," he added.

    "P-punched?" Crona asked, shaking a bit.

    "Crona, I've been friends with Black☆Star for four years," Soul replied. "After seeing all the fights he's gotten into, and the conditions of both him and his opponents, I think I know what the result of a face punch looks like."

    "Damn, you're right," Kilik said upon looking closer.

    "Who did this to you?" Maka asked. "And what about your hand?"

    "It also hit the dresser," Crona replied, maintaining the story. "Don't worry, it's just a small bruise," they added, pulling up their sleeve a bit to show the bruise, which was only about the size of an unused eraser. Despite its size, the bruise was incredibly dark, like it definitely could not have come from bumping up against the edge of a dresser. _It looks like they were struck with something_ , Maka thought. Before anyone could ask any more questions, the bell rang, and Mr. Buttataki came in to take roll. When her name was called out, Maka immediately answered with "here", and then returned to her prior concerns.

    "It's my fault, isn't it?" she whispered to Crona. "She did this because I know, didn't she?"

    "No, no, it's my fault for even thinking it was a good idea to tell you in the first place," Crona whispered back. "If I didn't, this wouldn't have happened," they added. Maka wrote down a little note incase Medusa was still listening. _"Papa called child services,"_ it read. " _They're likely going to investigate, and if the results turn up, you're going to be taken away from her, and you'll be safe."_

    "What?" Crona asked. They brought their voice back down to a whisper, covering their ear. "If I get taken away, what's the guarantee that a new family can even pay the tuition for this place? Or if I remain a ward of the state, what exactly would that mean for me? Maka, if I get taken away from her, what's the guarantee I'll be able to easily see you again?"

    "You know where I live, you've been to both my parents' houses," Maka replied. "A foster family could easily drive you over to either of them," she added. "And regardless of whether we're at the same school, I'll still be your friend and want to see you. Besides, your safety is far more important than whether you stay at Shibusen."

    "I know, but..."

    "Crona Gorgon!" Mr. Buttataki called out.

    "Oh... um, here," Crona replied. They turned back to look at Maka. "I don't want to lose you," they whispered.

    "You won't lose me, no matter what the outcome," Maka replied, squeezing Crona's right hand. "I promise."

    "Albarn! Gorgon! No talking or whispering in my class!" Mr. Buttataki shouted. Crona immediately shut up, while Maka grumbled something first before resigning to her silence. "Okay, now where was I..."

 

    As soon as English ended, the freshmen poured out of the classroom, about to go their separate ways until gym before heading to club practice, like they would on any other Wednesday.

    "Holy shit, who did that to your face?" Maka heard a familiar and grating voice ask.

    "Wait, was that Ragnarok?" Kidd asked.

    "So he's not the culprit," Kilik added. "Then who could it have been?"

    "I told you, it just hit the dresser," Crona stuttered, as Ragnarok bounded over to the five freshmen. He was not an unusual variable to encounter most days, except for Wednesday between first and second period, when he was supposed to be on the other side of campus entirely. And it was Wednesday, between first and second period.

    "Crona, who hit your face like that?" Ragnarok asked. "Because I thought I had made it clear that you were exclusively my target," he added. "Did someone at this school not get the fucking memo?"

    Crona traced their index fingers across their face in the same manner as how Ragnarok's X-shaped scar was placed. Ragnarok's expression turned to one of horror.

    "Don't tell me..." he said. "There is no way that you've actually been telling the truth."

    There was a pause, as Ragnarok clearly expected Crona to have said something. Soul tapped Kidd's arm and mentioned that if they didn't leave now, they probably wouldn't make it to their class. The two boys began walking off down the hall.

    "I suddenly have to go to the nurse's office," Ragnarok said, his eye twitching a bit in rage. "My scar is hurting."

    "What kind of lame-ass Harry Potter excuse is that?" Kilik asked.

    "Shut your damn trap, Four-Eyes," Ragnarok replied, storming off.

    "Hmm, 'Four-Eyes'," Kilik said. "Haven't heard that one since second grade," he added. "Are you sure you're OK, Crona?"

    "Yeah, I'll be fine," Crona replied. "Just, go on to Algebra, I'll see you at lunch," they said, splitting off down another hallway. Maka watched as Crona left, their footsteps gradually becoming softer, and Kilik went down a different hallway, before Maka went two rooms down for her next class.

 

    The rest of the school day passed with a strangely uncomfortable monotony. The bell rang for club practice, and as Maka entered the room, she only counted thirteen. Thirteen people out of the fifteen students and her father, who was one of the three not there. The two late students were unsurprisingly Ragnarok and Crona.

    "What is he doing to them this time?" Maka muttered, taking the seat between Soul and Black☆Star. Spirit walked back in after that, looking heavily distraught.

    "If I hadn't left that in my jacket pocket," he started, taking a few steps. "That damn note went through the wash," he added. _That is not the note I think it is, right?_ Maka thought, feeling like her heart was going to explode. "The damn note was my only evidence," Spirit muttered. "Why'd it have to be written with a cheap pen?"

    "Um, Mr. Albarn?" Harvar asked. "Are you fit to teach?"

    Spirit looked into the worried eyes of the thirteen students, and took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, gotta put this aside for now," he said. "I've got a practice to run for you kids."

    Spirit tried to stand in a much prouder, more authoritative stance.

    "Okay, so, state final," he started. "Since we expected none of you were going to change too drastically in measurement over two months, Hiro and I went ahead and ordered our new costumes," he added, as Ragnarok walked in, threw his blazer to the ground, and sat down unenthusiastically in an empty chair.

    "I heard through the door, keep going," Ragnarok huffed.

    "The costumes are unisex, so everyone's gonna be wearing the same thing regardless of gender," Spirit said. "And since they came in yesterday afternoon, as you can see from those boxes over there, I thought that in the spirit of things, I'd have someone model one to show you guys what they look like," he added. There was some intrigued chattering. "Crona, come on in," Spirit called out. The door to the choir room opened, and taking a few small steps, Crona entered the room. _Aww,_ Maka thought to herself, but a bit of it escaped into thinking out loud under everyone's excited murmurs. Crona was wearing a vibrantly purple tuxedo-like jacket over a white shirt, with short black shorts and a matching black bow tie. Maka's gaze crept to the shorts, and their almost alarmingly short length, as well as how form-fitting they were on their hips.

    "Can I change back now?" Crona asked, looking up at Spirit with hopeful eyes. Spirit's expression changed to a horrific regret. He put a hand on Crona's shoulder and began to tear up. _What the actual hell is Papa even doing?_ Maka thought. Crona looked at Spirit in confusion and brushed off his hand.

    "Mr. Albarn?" they asked. "Um, I don’t really like it when most people touch my shoulder..."

    "Sorry about that," Spirit replied. "Anyway, I tried calling, but the note went through the wash and that was our only scrap of evidence, I'm so sorry," he added and turned to wailing after "through the wash".

    "What note?" Crona asked, taking a few steps back.

    "The note you... I'll tell you after practice," Spirit replied, turning back to the others. "So, what do you guys think of our costume for State?"

    "I will outshine all of you in it!" Black☆Star gloated.

    "I like it!" Tsubaki exclaimed. "It looks really good on you, Crona," she added. _I second that notion, Maka thought,_ feeling her face get really warm all of a sudden.

    "It's even better than when I saw it on the website," Hiro said. "I can't wait to see it on all our girls," he added. The fleeting feeling Maka had before changed to disgust at Hiro's perverse behavior. Maka saw Black☆Star whisper something to Kilik. It was hard to tell, but it looked like he blushed.

    "Ugh, I am NOT wearing that," Ragnarok groaned.

    "It looks pretty good," Maka said. "I definitely like the shor... choo!" she added, trying to catch herself. Soul whispered something about how that was the worst fake sneeze in the history of fake sneezes, and Maka gave him a playful punch in the arm.

    "Maka, just saying you like the shorts isn't going to cause too much alarm anyway," Soul whispered. "You're a girl, so people aren't likely gonna assume you have a pervy reason for doing so."

    "Get ready world, I am gonna OWN that," Kim said, fist-bumping Jackie. Jackie shook her hand around a bit afterwards.

    "One question," Ox said. "Will us guys have to wear booty shorts as well?"

    "I don't know, I think I could pull it off," Kidd added, prompting Ox to move another seat over as not to be sitting next to him anymore.

    "They're not booty shorts, they're high upper thigh cut," Spirit said. "There's a difference, and you guys can go get yours out of the boxes, I already labeled them by name," he added. Everyone got up from the chairs at varying paces, and went over to the boxes. Black☆Star, Ox, and Patty had gotten there first and were not only digging for theirs, but were also handing them out to the others. Maka got handed two by mistake, one with her own name, and one saying "Ragnarok S." After the S was several scribbles in both marker colors, as Spirit and Hiro both obviously tried in vain many times to spell Ragnarok's last name, before giving up and just writing the initial. Judging by Tsubaki's expression, it appears Ragnarok wasn't the only one who this happened to. Maka handed Ragnarok his costume, and walked over to Crona.

    "That was one weird sneeze," Crona said. _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit. They know about the "sneeze!"_

    "Yeah," Maka replied. She paused for a few seconds. _Okay, it just looked like you were going to say the shorts are nice, no reason to panic._ Maka opened the little bag her costume came in. _Size XS Juniors,_ she noted. _And the X was drawn on, someone's humoring me._ Maka pulled out the shorts and held them up to herself.

    "Looks like they're the same length on mine, too," she said. "I think everyone got these." Maka's statement was echoed by a loud "WHAT?" from Ragnarok.

    "No fucking way," he said. Spirit walked over to him, warning about language. In vain.

    "I'm the only one actually wearing this right now, I feel so... off," Crona started. "It's so short, why is it so short? I can't deal with that, everyone will stare at me!"

    "Why are the shorts so short?" Maka loudly asked, turning to the crowd. Hiro ran over to Maka and Crona.

    "I got this!" he shouted to Spirit. He cleared his throat. "Come out here," Hiro said, opening the door and walking out. Maka and Crona took a few steps out into the hall.

    "You might be wondering about the length of the shorts, as well as why there aren't any coattails on the jacket," Hiro began. _Nobody cares about the coattails._ "Well, I picked the shorts for a good reason, you know? It's um, because we’re performing in Vegas and I wanted our costumes to be… flashy like the ones I saw on the show choir blogs."

    "Flashy?" Maka asked, fearing the worst.

    "Wait, there are show choir blogs?" Crona asked.

    "Yes, there are show choir blogs," Hiro replied in an exasperated manner. "Okay, I was going to make up a fake story about one of the judges’ blogs to ‘justify myself’ to you two, but when Mr. Albarn asked, I just said, 'we're going to Vegas, right? We gotta be extra showy', and-"

    "Hold up, you were going to make one of the judges seem like a perv to justify wanting costumes that showed some leg?" Maka asked. "Some of us are only fourteen and we’re all high schoolers," she added. "You do realize the implications of your little story, right?"

    "Oh," Hiro replied, as the realization hit him. "Okay, fine," he added. "I did this for me, and ordered it for everyone’s shorts so it wouldn’t look like I did."

    "Well, it’s better that you just said it," Maka said.

    "Uh, Maka, when'd Crona slip out?" Hiro asked. Maka turned around. There was nobody behind her anymore.

    "I don't know, maybe they're back in the choir room," Maka replied, taking a quick peek inside. She scanned the room, but the only pink-haired student in there was Kim. Maka heard the janitor closet's door open and close. Maka spun back around, one of her pigtails ungracefully boinking her in the face for half a second. Crona walked out from the closet, back in their school uniform and holding their costume, which had been unceremoniously shoved back into its bag.

    "I'm going to ask Mr. Albarn whether I can wear anything underneath those shorts," Crona said, walking right past Hiro. Maka gave Hiro a dirty look and followed Crona back into the room. She put her shorts back into her costume bag. _Maybe I should tell Papa about Hiro after the meeting's over,_ she thought, as Crona asked Spirit about what they just mentioned.

    "Actually, I was going to think of customization options for you guys, but Hiro ordered fifteen pairs of these shorts and the exact same jacket before I could finish talking about it," Spirit said. "So you guys are welcome to make any adjustments to the costume to make it your own. Tights underneath the shorts, using different ties, whatever you want."

    "So can I tear the sleeves off both the shirt and the jacket?" Black☆Star asked.

    "I'm going to dye the jacket a different color, then," Ragnarok stated.

    "What about polka-dotted rain boots!" Patty exclaimed.

    "Kilik, you own a horse mask, right?" Soul asked.

    "Okay, there are some limitations," Spirit groaned. "Keep to the original colors of the costume pieces, please don't tear off any sleeves, and I hope to God those were joke suggestions. Enough about that, we're wasting rehearsal time, and we've got a little over a month to go. Get into formation for 'Bad Reputation'," he added. Spartoi moved into their beginning formation. Maka looked over from her position between Kim and Black☆Star. _Wait, this one didn't even have real choreography yet,_ she thought, as Spirit looked through his blocking diagrams.

    "We're gonna use the same choreography Tone Death used for this song three years ago, when I was just popping in as an assistant coach before the previous guy retired due to an injury," Spirit said.

    "He actually died," Kidd corrected Spirit with.

    "What rumors are you kids hearing?" Spirit asked, not knowing he was immediately going to regret everything about that question.

    "There's one that Coach Blair is a furry," Patty replied.

    "And that Miss Mjolnir has the hots for that one sub," Hiro said. "Also I've heard of her having a thing for the trig teacher," he added. "And that you and the sub are hot for each other. I've heard a lot about the faculty."

    "Well, I heard Coach Barrett and Ms. Nygus are secretly married," Tsubaki said.

    "And that Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre is a lesbian," Jackie added.

    "This is very dubious, but I heard Soul had a scene phase in seventh grade," Maka slyly said. Soul let out a noise of anger.

    "And about that sub, Stein, I heard he dissected animals behind the school back when he was a student here," Liz said.

    "Okay, that last one is true," Spirit replied. "I witnessed it a few ti... wait, Jackie, did you just come out?"

    "Yeah," Jackie replied.

    "We all knew you were a lesbian, Jackie," Kim said. "You didn't even need to say it."

    "Jeez, Kim," Jackie said.

    "You know, there is something going around that you two are 'gal pals', if you catch my drift," Black☆Star said. Jackie blushed feverishly.

    "We're just best friends," Kim replied. "Although we've both got plenty of school year left and then some, so who knows?" she asked before looking at Jackie with a smirk. "Just teasing," she added. "Or am I?"

    "Don't tease me like that," Jackie replied, looking down at the floor. "Just please, can we just get back to practice?" she asked. Maka looked at the clock. Spartoi had already wasted much of their time already. _And with the state final so close_.

    "You know, everyone knows Kim would rather go out with me," Ox muttered.

    "Psh, you wish," Kim replied. _Don't tell me this is going to end up a love triangle,_ Maka thought, as a hurried choreography rehearsal began. _The only thing worse than being in one of those is having to watch it._

 

    After a few run-throughs, the bell rang. Most of Spartoi began exiting the room, save for Maka and Crona, who approached Spirit.

    "Papa, you know why Hiro picked that costume specifically, right?" Maka asked.

    "What note were you talking about in the beginning?" Crona asked at the same time. _And that's more important, maybe I should step back._

    "The note you gave Maka yesterday, she showed it to me," Spirit replied. Crona made a small gasp.

    "What note?" Crona asked. "I never gave her any notes, I don't know what you're talking about," they hurriedly added, stammering a bit. "Maybe I should get going, I don't want to miss the bus."

    "Your mother drives you home, right?" Spirit inquired. Crona stood there for a second in silence. Maka pointed to Spirit, before moving her index finger across her neck with gritted teeth.

    "Oh, that's right!" Crona nervously exclaimed. "She's probably waiting for me, I should go," they added, exiting the room. Spirit raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

    "They're acting strange," Spirit noted. "That note wasn't a prank, was it? Tell me I didn't call child services over a nasty prank," he added, slowly sounding more panicked.

    "It wasn't a prank, the note's real," Maka replied. "It's just, well, they're afraid to talk about it," she added.

    "Well, it's not going to go away if they keep bottling it up," Spirit said. "Should I arrange another meeting with Marie?"

    "The counselor?" Maka asked. "Crona has been seeing her since the poem incident. I don’t think they’ve talked about their mother."

    "And if Ms. Gorgon gets suspicious, we can say it's primarily about Crona's anxiety," Spirit added. He thought for a second. "Maka, get to the bus before you're late again."

    "Okay!" Maka replied, as the two parted ways down the hall. On her way out, Maka saw Ragnarok shoving Crona into a trash can and calling them a liar, before storming off, unknowingly in Maka's direction.

    "I saw that, you bastard," Maka said.

    "Not like I care," Ragnarok replied, pushing Maka to the ground even though she was nowhere near being in his way. Maka returned back to her feet and brushed herself off. She ran down the hallway to find Crona crammed into a position they likely couldn't get themself out of, which they sunk a bit further into trying to move.

    "Surprisingly this doesn't hurt," Crona said, noticing the look on Maka's face. Maka grabbed both their hands.

    "I'll pull you out on three, okay?" she asked. "One... two... three!" The trash can fell over, but at least Crona was pulled out. They dusted themself off. _I guess I'm much stronger than I thought._

    "Thanks," Crona said, smiling. _It's that smile again._ _That sweet, genuine smile that's so rarely seen. I wish they smiled more often. Not for my own sake, but as a sign they were happy. That's all I want for them, safety and happiness._

    "Hey, no problem at all," Maka replied, smiling back. "If I left you there, you'd probably start to feel like garbage," she added. _Did that just come out?_ "Sorry, that was bad," Maka sighed.

    "Not really," Crona replied. _Probably not good, either_.

    "What I meant to say was that I couldn't just leave my friend down in the dumps," Maka said, not being able to help herself in the slightest.

    "Okay, could you stop now?" Crona asked, putting the trash can back up.

    "Yeah, sorry, one was enough, these puns are pretty trashy," Maka replied. There was no response. "I'll see you tomorrow while I still have my dignity," she sighed, giving Crona a little wave goodbye. Maka began her way back down the hall. She turned her head around to see Crona giving a little wave back, with that same sweet little smile.


	14. Chapter 14

    "Fine, one pity date," Kim scoffed at Ox. "And if it doesn't go well, you must promise to never bother me again, okay?" she asked. This was not something Maka expected to happen during one extra practice, especially not over winter break. But then again, she never really paid attention much to Ox's flirting, and he mostly kept it out of club time, which was pretty much the only time Maka ever saw him at.

    "Yes! Finally! Three years of being the nice guy and twenty thousand dollars over the course of all that paid off!" Ox shouted.

    "I might reconsider for more," Kim grumbled.

    "Twenty thousand dollars?" Maka and several other Spartoi members gasped. Black☆Star started counting on his fingers.

    "That's almost thirty-three and a half of my motorcycle!" Ragnarok exclaimed. Maka calculated in her head how much Ragnarok's motorcycle cost from there, before he interrupted with "If I didn't get it as a 'gift'."

    "And almost twenty of mine!" Soul also exclaimed. "If only I was a bit older and could get a license..." he lamented.

    "Twenty thousand dollars is nothing, though," Kidd said, waving it off.

    "Does your family use money like tissues?" Liz asked, jaw dropping. "Some people make less than that in a year!"

    "Discounting the rabble, Kim Diehl," Ox said, "you and I are officially together, m'lady."

    "Not if you ever call me 'm'lady' again," Kim replied, walking over to Jackie. "Hear that, Jackie? It's the sound of youth's regret," she whispered. "When's practice gonna restart?"

    "When Papa comes back from his bathroom break," Maka replied.

    "It has been a while," Kilik added.

    "Maybe he's lost," Crona speculated. "I mean, we've only been at the rec center twice before, and that was a few months ago. Every other practice's been at the auditorium."

    "Oh my gosh, protect this innocent child!" Tsubaki exclaimed, hugging Crona from behind. _They're not protesting,_ Maka noticed. _Wait, of course, who wouldn't want a Tsubaki hug?_ she thought, hearing footsteps come down the hallway. Hiro alerted that Spirit was back, but instead it was a rec center employee. They explained they weren't Spirit and left the room. Hiro was glared at by three teenagers. _That person didn't even have the same hair color. Speaking of hair color,_ Maka thought, looking around at Black☆Star, who seemed to be almost flirting with Kilik, _looks like Black_ _☆_ _Star's blue is getting brighter. He must've switched to a full neon dye. And Crona's pink is fading. Are those blonde streaks? Exactly the same color as their mother's hair._

    "Hey, I just noticed you're blonde under all that pink!" Patty exclaimed.

    "Actually, it's reddish-blonde," Kim replied, re-adjusting her sweatband to try and hide her roots. "I should probably redo these," she muttered.

    "Not you, Kim, I was talking about Crona," Patty said.

    "I ran out of dye," Crona explained, just as Spirit walked back in. "Haven't really been to the store yet to buy any more, but when I'm allowed out, I think I might," Crona added. "Um, by allowed out... I mean... uh, I was grounded, for, for, for being too loud in my room, yeah, that's what I meant."

    "You guys weren't practicing at all while I was gone, were you?" Spirit asked. Everybody ignored him.

    "Being too loud, huh?" Ragnarok asked. "Doing what exactly? Listening to music turned up without headphones? Or did you stub your toe and yell 'mother fucker!' or something like that? That happened to me once." he added.

    "Um..." Crona replied. "No, I, I was talking to myself," they added. Spirit turned on the music player.

    "Oh cool, we got background music," Soul said. "Wait," he added. "That. Is. The song we gotta do for State. That Is 'Bad Repu-' "

    "Holy crap, we gotta get in formation!" Kilik exclaimed. He frantically started singing the beginning of _"Bad Reputation."_ Maka held in laughter, as Tsubaki let go of Crona and took a few quiet steps.

    "Chill," Liz said, walking into her place. "Mr. Albarn, can you restart the music?" she asked.

    "I was going to," Spirit replied. "You kids are great," he said. At this point, Ragnarok started cackling, as everyone but him got into their places. Ragnarok stopped laughing, but did not follow suit, instead waiting to see how long it would take before Spirit would notice he wasn't doing anything. Or at least that's what Maka figured he was doing. Turns out it was very easy to notice a six-and-a-half-foot nineteen-year-old just standing there in a slew of younger teenagers who all were still in the range of five foot zero to five foot seven. Especially when the shortest one, Maka, has to meander around because said six-foot-sixer was right in the way of her part of the choreography. This caused Maka to bump into Harvar's shoulder, and he stumbled a bit, nearly elbowing Patty in the process. She leaned back to avoid the elbow and caught heads with Black☆Star, who took the pain from that like it was nothing.

    "Okay, what was all that?" Spirit asked.

    "You tried to teach us two full routines in these past three weeks, no wonder we're messing up!" Ragnarok snapped back. "And if anyone mentions how I just stood there I'll punch Crona in the face," he added.

    "You just stood-"

    "I'll do it, watch me," Ragnarok interrupted with, raising his fist.

    "Could we just... take it from the top so nobody hits anyone?"  Tsubaki asked. "Please?"

    "Just what I was going to say, Tsubaki," Spirit added. "And Ragnarok, if you're not actually going to do anything, why are you here?" he asked. "In fact, you've just been counterproductive to the whole group the entire time. You've made no effort to improve your vocal training, you willingly don't follow directions at least seventy-five percent of the time, you treat your cousin like trash..."

    "How about you shut the hell up about that last one?" Ragnarok asked.

    "The first time I really met you, before you joined Spartoi, you had Crona pinned up against a locker and you were about to punch them!" Spirit corrected. "Over something petty. In fact, you were making fun of them for joining this very club," he added. "I don't know why you decided to show up a week later after that."

    "I thought you believed I'm not the worst person in their life right now," Ragnarok replied. _That still doesn't excuse you for being in second._

    "Really?" Black☆Star asked, doubting Ragnarok's words. "How exactly has anyone been worse to them than you?"

    "I'd've thought Maka told you this already, it's been three weeks since she first heard the rumor," Ragnarok replied. "Now how else are you gonna grill me, teacher man?" _Rumor?_ Maka thought. _I heard it from the source._

    "I just want to know why you're still here if you're not going to put in the effort," Spirit said. "Get yourself in line unless you want to blow it for the whole team," he added.

    "I'm gonna do it, you know," Ragnarok said through gritted teeth.

    "Sure you will," Maka muttered. Ragnarok walked over to Crona. _Don't you dare._

    "Good, now-" Spirit started, before Ragnarok almost hit Crona in the face, if it weren't for a lucky dodge. "HEY!" Spirit shouted. The entire room went silent. Maka could feel the tension in the air. _Is Ragnarok gonna get kicked out of Spartoi for this? We've only got a month until State, so could we afford to re-choreograph two whole... oh wait, yes we can. We edited him out of the preliminaries just fine due to laryngitis. I won't miss him one bit. Bye, asshole._

    "You. Me. Other room. Now," Spirit said, glaring in a way almost nobody had ever seen before. Except Maka, she knew that look. That was the you-are-in-huge-trouble look Maka hadn't seen since fifth grade. And she had never seen it directed at anybody else than her for that one time.

    "Why should I?" Ragnarok asked. "This isn't an official practice, so you barely even have any authority."

    "I can still kick you out for attempting to hurt another member, so don't test me here," Spirit replied.

    "Is this the moment he's finally lost patience with Ragnarok?" Soul whispered. "Bout time," he added.

    "Shh, I wanna hear every word of this," Maka whispered back.

    "Permanent record's already one of the worst I could do without getting expelled, I'll still find other ways to mess with Crona, I don't have any nudes to leak, hell, I've got no reason to follow you back there," Ragnarok said.

    "I know what your dad's been doing on the side," Spirit replied. An unusual look of horror spread across Ragnarok's face, before turning back to his usual scowl.

    "What exactly do you want?" Ragnarok asked, following Spirit as the two of them made their way out of the room. Speculation went wild.

    "Hiro, the average prostitute couldn't make enough money for someone to afford Shibusen for five years straight," Harvar said.

    "Most jobs where you make enough to afford the tuition are considered reputable, so I don't see how his father's employment's an issue here," Kidd added. "Even if it is just a side job."

    "Maybe he's a mob boss!" Patty exclaimed.

    "Nah, the mob boss in this town is someone different," Black☆Star replied. "Found out through Masamune before he got arrested," Black☆Star added, realizing how suspicious it was to know who the mob boss is. It still sounded suspicious.

    "Party clown for a child's birthday," Patty spitballed. "That's really embarrassing," she added.

    "Maybe the president's party clown could pay that much, but not an ordinary one," Harvar replied. "Hate to say it, but organized crime's still the best guess you guys threw out," he added. "Best we don't keep guessing," he sighed.

    "On a different topic, actual show choir experience is really different than how the media portrays this stuff," Kilik said. "Like, nobody's gotten pregnant so far, routines are taking actual work to choreograph, the bullying guy isn't a lovable rogue-type but an actual friggin' jerk, the cheer coach loves us, the cheerleaders are all mostly nice, and there hasn't really been much romance drama," he added.

    "Yeah, _Glee_ 's a load of shit, we get that," Soul said. "Speaking of romance drama, you still got that crush?" he asked, looking at Crona.

    "It's not really any of your business," Crona replied, becoming flustered. _And fortunately or unfortunately, over the past three weeks, the feeling's become mutual. Thank goodness I can_ _reasonably hide it in public, but I still can't shake this feeling. Just don't make eye contact, and you'll be fine, Maka._

    "You weren't there for that, were you, Soul?" Kidd asked.

    "Wait, there for what?" Soul asked in return.

    "Don't tell everyone that, you said you'd keep it a secret," Crona added, face turning brighter. Soul looked over at Maka.

    "Hey, I wasn't there for this one," she said, shrugging. "I have just as much of a clue about it as you do," she added, noticing Spartoi start to split off into subgroups. Kilik was still off ranting to Ox, Harvar, Kim, and Jackie about his negative opinions of _Glee_ , while Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki were practicing a bit of choreography like everyone else should have been doing at this point. Black☆Star was nowhere in sight, and everyone figured he just went to the bathroom or something. Hiro was sitting alone on his phone in the corner, since nobody's really paid any attention to him much anymore.

    "Seriously, Kidd," Crona said.

    "Okay, I won't tell him," Kidd replied. "I should be practicing anyway," he added, joining Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki. Soul nudged Crona in the shoulder.

    "Details?" he asked.

    "Still not really any of your business," Crona replied.

    "Well, okay then," Soul said. He paused for a second, like he was going to speak again. But he didn't, instead looking over his shoulder at Black☆Star re-entering the room and going back to the practicing group. "I'm gonna go practice," Soul said, walking off to join the others. The practicing group had now comprised the majority, save for Crona and Maka.

    "Was that you by Miss Mjolnir's office last Thursday?" Maka asked, bringing up an incidental detail from school.

    "I had to sneak in again, but yes," Crona replied. "I didn't talk about Lady Medusa," they added.

    "Why?" Maka asked. Crona pointed to their ear. "Oh, gotcha," Maka added.

    "I’ve never been able to get an official meeting because of my mother, and because she has appointments with other students," Crona said. "I finally found another opening just last Thursday, and I spent the entire afterschool period just answering her questions and talking a bit about life, but she still doesn't suspect a thing," they added. "It's awful, I felt I had to lie to her because I was in enough trouble then just seeing her in the first place. She's so kind to me, almost as much as you are, and I feel like I could really trust her, but she can't trust me now, can she?"

    "You can trust her," Maka replied. "I haven't needed her services, but she's a friend of Papa's," she added. "After Dr. Stein and Coach Blair, she's probably his third best friend, so she's come over a few times. I like Miss Mjolnir, she's kind of a mothe... sweet and caring figure," Maka said, correcting herself due to a doubt for Crona to fully appreciate the first approximation.

    "I get what you were trying to say," Crona replied. "Although in the end, I sort of felt like I wasted my time with that last meeting."

    "How so?" Maka asked.

    "Well, we didn’t talk about much we hadn’t before, but she did say I might have a few things," Crona replied. "Generalized anxiety disorder and depression, both of which I knew I already had, and she suspected something else because of how I normally deal with people. Still, it was kind of nice to have her acknowledge them, though she said as just a school counselor, she couldn't make an official diagnosis," they added. "I just wish I could've said more."

    "Are you sure she doesn't suspect a thing?" Maka asked. "Is there something you could've unintentionally done to tip her off?"

    "Maybe, I don't know how good she is at detecting a liar," Crona replied, looking back over at the others. "Should we join them?" Crona asked.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. The two of them then walked over to the others.

    "Liz, you're smoothing out my vocals perfectly," Tsubaki beamed.

    "Oh, am I?" Liz asked.

    "Yes, maybe you could back me up a bit louder on my rougher parts if I don't significantly improve my key by State," Tsubaki suggested.

    "Sure, babe," Liz replied, kissing Tsubaki on the cheek. "We could still do a coaching session next weekend at my place if you want," she added, giving Tsubaki a look that suggested more than just coaching would end up going on that day.

    "I'd like that," Tsubaki replied, giving Liz that same look.

 

    Just then, Spirit and Ragnarok returned.

    "I decided to stay with you dipshits, okay?" Ragnarok asked. "Spirit here's a damn sucker for sob stories."

    "Your dad's name is Spirit?" Harvar asked Maka.

    "He legally changed it to that one night when I was really little, that's all I know," Maka replied. "Alcohol might've been involved, I'm not sure," she whispered.

    "What sob story could you possibly even have?" Kidd asked Ragnarok.

    "I used Crona to my advantage, it works every time," Ragnarok replied, walking over to a bench in the corner and getting out his water bottle. "I'll practice in a bit!" he called out. _Something makes me think he's gonna end up absent for State too,_ Maka thought. She rolled her eyes, and went back to practicing.

 

    Once practice was over, Maka walked over to the bench, where Ragnarok still sat. He hadn't even moved.

    "Hey, Albarn, you know about the situation, right?" he asked.

    "Situation?" Maka asked in return. "You mean the one with Crona and Ms. Gorgon? Crona told me three weeks ago. Papa and I've tried to do something about it, but turns out CPS allegedly didn't find anything suspicious when they investigated last week. I've been doing my best to keep checking up on Crona to make sure everything's OK, as well as giving them little snacks every now and then so they aren't entirely starving. I have made maximum efficiency usage of my blazer's pockets-"

    "You do realize it's not even real," Ragnarok replied. "That Crona's lying to you."

    "Lying to me?" Maka asked. "Why the hell would someone lie about having an abusive mother, you dick?"

    "Okay first of all, fuck off," Ragnarok replied. "I spoke with Medusa and got the truth," he added. "You do realize they're just anorexic as shit and a pathological liar, right?"

    "Why would you think an abusive mother would actually admit to abusing her child?" Maka asked, just as Crona walked over. "Why don't you believe Crona?"

    "Well, I've never seen Medusa do anything to them," Ragnarok replied.

    "You did believe me at one point," Crona began.

    "That was before I knew better!" Ragnarok snapped. "And why the fuck would you want to keep starving yourself like this? God damn it, you barely ever get to even eat!"

    "It's not that, it's that I... I'm..." Crona began, "My mother really was doing that stuff to me," they said, shielding their torso with their arms. "Why don't you still believe me? Do you like seeing me in pain like this?"

    "So you think _I'M_ the bad guy here?" Ragnarok asked.

    "I wasn't saying that," Crona replied. "It's just you can be a bit..." they added, almost choking up on their words.

    "A bit what?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Harsh," Crona replied. Maka stepped in front of them to block a possible hit.

    "I wasn't going to hit them, if that's what you're thinking," Ragnarok said, standing up. "Okay, maybe a little. But only to knock some sense into that delusional head of theirs. You shouldn't be blaming your mother for the way you treat yourself, Crona."

    "Ragnarok, has it ever struck your tiny little brain that they're telling the truth?" Maka asked.

    "Has it ever struck your dumbass brain that they might be lying?" Ragnarok asked in return.

    "I'm not lying," Crona stated, exasperated. "I haven't been lying at all for the four years since I told you."

    "It's not my fault I ended up with this!" Ragnarok snapped, pointing to the large X-shaped scar across his face. "It's yours, you dumbass," he added. Maka turned back around, looking at Crona, before looking back at Ragnarok. "If you didn't think you were in this situation, I wouldn't have had to drive out on my motorcycle in the fucking rain and crash trying to 'rescue' you," Ragnarok said.

    "You didn't have to drive out in the rain," Maka pointed out. "That was all your fault," she added, before receiving a slap to the face. Ragnarok then lowered his hand, glaring at Maka.

    "Maka, are you okay?" Crona asked. Maka nodded, giving Crona a reassuring look. "Good," Crona added, before facing Ragnarok. "I don't need your help anyway," they said. "Sorry."

    "Not sorry," Maka added, picking up her bag, before walking off with Crona.

 

    The two made their way outside the rec center, and sat down on a bench. Maka rummaged through her bag a bit, and took out her cell phone. She set it to the front camera, and held it up in front of her face.

    "Please don't take any pictures," Crona mumbled.

    "Relax, I'm just checking to see if Ragnarok left a mark," Maka replied, looking back at her phone. "Looks like I'll be fine," she began. The shutter clicked. "Ah, my thumb moved."

    "What?" Crona asked, looking over Maka's shoulder. _They're so close_ , Maka thought, her heart racing. _Okay, don't freak out or anything. You've already done so well at keeping your cool._

    "It's just me in the picture anyway," Maka said, showing Crona for just enough time to confirm. "It looks awful, I'm deleting it," Maka added, hitting the delete button with the swiftness of a thousand coursing rivers. Maka then locked her phone and put it back in her bag.

    "So how have things been at home?" Maka asked, fully aware of how dark the tone of the conversation has become.

    "Better," Crona replied. Maka's eyes lit up. Even though she knew "better" likely wouldn't mean "completely okay", it was still an improvement, and any improvement was a good sign. "The child services came to investigate last week, after receiving a call from who they said was a young girl across the street," Crona added. Maka grabbed Crona's hand and squeezed it tight. _That was me, I called last week,_ Maka thought, anxious to hear the result. "Lady Medusa was able to convince the woman who came in that everything was fine, and that I was okay. I don't know how she managed it. But she said she wasn't going to do anything anymore after that."

    "What? Really?" Maka asked. _No way, this... but... how did Ms. Gorgon have a change of heart so quickly?_

    "She actually made enough dinner for two that night," Crona replied. "And afterwards, for the first time since before I could remember, she just... hugged me, and she told me that the woman who visited was a wakeup call for us," they added. "She apologized, saying it would never happen again, and that she never wanted to lose me, and that if she had kept this up any more, she would have." Tears started to form in Crona's eyes, but they quickly blinked them away. "Since then, she hasn't skipped giving me any meals, and I haven't been sent to be alone in my room out of her sight. She seems to actually want me to be in her presence, and she's finally seeing me as a human being, it's so much more than she ever told me I deserved. And Lady Medusa wanted me to thank you for all this. She said without you being how you were, she never would have

learned her lesson."

    "Ms. Gorgon really said that?" Maka asked. I _'m surprised a person could do a complete 180 in such a short time,_ she thought. _But this is good, right?_ "I..." Maka started. "I can't believe it," she said.

    "I couldn't at first, not sure if I can," Crona replied. "But it really seems like Lady Medusa's giving me another chance," they added. "Too bad we'll be leaving tomorrow. Lady Medusa's going to have us on the next flight to Athens by then."

    "You're moving to Greece?" Maka asked. _After this supposedly great news, I'll never see Crona again? Calm down, Maka, there's enough time for you to tell them how you feel before Papa even drives the two of us back to our respective houses._

    "No, not moving, we'll just be over there for the rest of winter break to see family," Crona replied. "Although, the only sentences I know in Greek are 'sorry, I can't speak Greek very well', and what I think might be 'Merry Christmas,' but I'm still not entirely sure, so I think I'll probably just keep to myself again," they added.

    "I've got international calling, so you can talk to me if you get too lonely over there," Maka said. "Have you been there before?"

    "We go every year," Crona replied. "And nobody except Lady Medusa and I speak English," they added. "It's kind of frustrating, actually. Also the time zone difference is ten or eleven hours ahead, so on the first day or two I'm there, I'm disoriented."

    "So everything's great?" Maka asked in a sarcastic tone.

    "Not really," Crona replied. "You're not there," they added. Maka felt a rush of warmth go through her face. _Did I just blush?_ she thought, looking down to see she had never let go of Crona's hand, before looking back up at their eyes. Those nervous, uncertain eyes.

    "I'll be right here when you get back," Maka replied. "Well, not 'right here' right here, but in a figurative sense," she added. "I mean, I'll be right here in Death City, but not at this rec center, most likely..." _Oh my God, I should stop talking,_ Maka thought, as she kept spiraling into inanity. _I'm just making myself look more and more like some awkward dorky little... wait, this is Crona I'm talking to. I'm sure it doesn't matter how much of a dork I seem to them. But I should probably stop now._

    "I mean, depending on which day you get back, I might not even be right across the street at my mom's," Maka continued. "I could be a couple miles away, at Papa's house," she added, as Spirit approached.

    "Maka, Crona, you two ready?" Spirit asked. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you blushing a bit?" he asked. Maka and Crona both looked at each other, checking to see which one of them Spirit was talking about. Maka's face turned even redder when she realized it was her.

    "Yeah, I'm ready to go," Maka replied. _Idiot. You don't need to act like this around them._

    "Shotgun!" Black☆Star shouted in the background.

    "Black☆Star, you're not... and he's going into a different car," Maka said.

    "Are you okay?" Spirit asked. Maka nodded, and walked over to Spirit's car, taking the backseat with Crona. "What am I, your chauffeur?" Spirit joked. "I feel really bad dropping you back there though," he added.

    "Me?" Crona asked. "Everything's actually going to be fine now," they added. Spirit was naturally confused about this, so Crona began to explain it to him. As they were doing so, a little thought went through the back of Maka's mind. _What if this is all too good to be true?_

 

    But she tried to pay no mind to it for now.


	15. Chapter 15

    New Year's Eve. A time of reflections, a time of making expectations and resolutions, and a time for the Shibusen Academy's annual lock-in. A couple hundred rich kids locked into a building overnight to ring in the new year among other cheesy bonding activities. And Spartoi was required to participate thanks to Spirit, who decided to block out some of the lock-in's schedule ahead of time for state final practice. Maka arrived with Spirit at the familiar school doors, opening them to see Medusa talking with Principal Morte. And Medusa was looking very defensive.

    "Hoo boy," Spirit said, sighing.

    "Wonder what this is about?" Maka asked.

    "I have friends in local government, Ms. Gorgon," Principal Morte said, still keeping up his joyful tone. "Tell me why child services were called on you two weeks ago."

    "Someone suspecting something was wrong when it wasn't," Medusa replied. "You know how rumors go around at this school," she added. "Someone says something that gets misinterpreted, then it all spirals. Just like how it works at every other high school in America."

    "But this isn't a rumor like Mr. Albarn supposedly liking Ms. Yumi, or that Mr. Buttataki smokes weed behind public libraries, this is about you supposedly abusing your child!" Principal Morte exclaimed.

    "And it's just a rumor, no truth to it," Medusa said,looking over her shoulder. "Oh, Mr. Albarn, Maka, you two arrived," she said. "Crona's in the choir room with the rest of Spartoi."

    "I'll handle her, Maka," Spirit said. "You go have fun with your friends, you deserve it," he added. Maka said hello to Principal Morte, and walked down the familiar halls to the choir room.

 

    "She's wearing casual clothes!" Kim exclaimed. "Pay up, Crona," she added. Crona sighed, pulling out a bill from their blazer pocket. They were wearing their full school uniform, while everyone else in the room was wearing assorted casual clothes. In fact, Crona was the only student Maka had seen so far that night actually in their uniform.

    "Maka's here!" Black☆Star beamed, pulling Maka into the kind of hug where the smaller person ends up getting lifted off their feet.

    "Put me down right now," Maka replied, as Black☆Star set her down.

    "What took you so long?" Soul asked.

    "Official activities aren't for another five minutes," Maka replied. "Hey," she said to the upperclassmen, "what are the lock-ins actually like?"

    "Step aside, I got this," Liz replied. "Okay, so I didn't go every year, just started last year when Patty could be there with me, but it's really just a giant sleepover," she said. "First some boring games and stuff go on at eight, then the competitive clubs that have events within less than two months get split off for some practice time and club bonding, until like fifteen minutes before midnight when we're all called back into the gym to listen to some windy speech by Principal Morte about boring stuff, and then we ring in the new year, couples kiss, and everyone sleeps on the gym floor after teachers try in vain for two hours to quiet us down. Somewhere in the whole mess a few seniors usually do a beta test of their senior prank. Last year, Ragnarok and a few of his classmates TP'd Principal Morte's office, and a few decoys were blaring air horns over the

intercom."

    "And I'm the leader of this year's Beta Senior Prank," Ragnarok proclaimed. "We're going to spray paint dicks of varying sizes, colors, and degrees of realism on the roof," he added, as he and Liz held up two cans of neon spray paint.

    "Can we go?" Black☆Star asked, eyes lighting up.

    "It's usually seniors only, but decoys are gonna take a couple rolls to try and TP Principal Morte's office again," Liz explained. "You could help with that."

    "Hell yeah!" Black☆Star shouted.

    "If we're using underclassmen as decoys, I vote Crona gets to join, too," Ragnarok said. "You need to toughen up," he added, looking at Crona.

    "I-I can't TP the principal's office!" Crona shrieked. Ragnarok clasped his hand over their face.

    "Shut the fuck up!" he hissed. "You want a teacher to hear us?" Ragnarok asked. Crona made a muffled squeak and tried to shake their head. Ragnarok let go and walked off to the corner, putting his spray paint back into his bag. Maka ran right over to Crona.

    "Are you okay?" she asked, gently touching the spot on their face where a majority of the clasp hit. _Their face is so warm._ A few of the other members looked at each other with varying degrees of smirkiness as to what was going on.

    "I'm fine," Crona replied. "He does this stuff all the time," they sighed, as Maka put her hand down.

    "Come look at this!" Patty exclaimed, holding up her phone. Maka paid no attention as several of the others, not including Crona, walked over to Patty.

    "So, how was Greece?" Maka asked, reaching out to both of Crona's hands. "I mean, the parts you didn't already tell me over the phone."

    "I couldn't understand a word anyone but my mother said, but the food was good," Crona replied, holding on to Maka's hands. They looked like they perked up a bit doing so. "My aunt Shaula mixed up some new light pink hair dye for me out of some of the colors she already had, which was nice of her," they added. "It's really hard to talk about hair dyeing when you're not even speaking the same language. We had to use translator apps on our phones. But Aunt Arachne just ignored me, well, she tried to communicate once and got frustrated by the language barrier. How was your break?"

    "Uneventful," Maka replied. "I was at my grandparents' house for Christmas day," she added. "We did a white elephant exchange and a big family dinner. I started with a box of chocolates, and ended up with my grandmother's old engagement ring, but it's a bit thin for my finger," Maka said.

    "Maybe it would fit Crona," Tsubaki coughed. Both Maka and Crona became flustered at the thought. Maka slowly brought her arms up to get a good look at Crona's hands. Looking through intertwined fingers, she could really see just how thin Crona's fingers were. Maka let go of Crona's hands, and she reached into her pocket.

    "She's actually gonna do it," Soul said. Patty cracked up laughing. Maka took out a jewelry box. Crona's eyes widened in surprise, as Maka opened the box to reveal a small, heart-shaped silver locket with a few tiny diamonds embedded into it.

    "This is a bit late for a Christmas gift, but I wanted you to have this," she said, taking out the locket and undoing its clasp. "Guys, I don't even have the engagement ring with me," she called out to Spartoi, noticing everyone's faces.

    "Thank you," Crona replied, as Maka wrapped the chain around their neck, clasping it closed. Crona turned the locket around so that the heart was visible. "Is there a picture inside?" they asked.

    "No, not yet," Maka said. "I figured I'd let you pick that," she added, smiling. The door to the choir room opened.

    "Is anyone in here?" Miss Mjolnir asked. "Hey, Spartoi, wasn't it? The activities in the gym are about to begin, come and follow me."

 

    Spartoi and Miss Mjolnir made their way into the gym, where a lot of other students had been led by and were being led in by other teachers. At the front of the room on a makeshift stage was Principal Morte, dressed like the Grim Reaper. Why he was, nobody knew. Spartoi sat down together on an empty patch of gym floor, as Principal Morte began an introductory speech. Maka felt a hand brush against her wrist.

    "Oh, do you still want to hold hands?" she whispered to Crona.

    "Yes," Crona replied. "But that wasn't me." Maka flinched a bit, before accepting that stuff like this happens all the time when a bunch of people are put together in a cramped space. She took Crona's hand, as Principal Morte finished his surprisingly brief greeting. He gestured to several poster-sized collections of photos on the walls.

    "For our first activity, we'll be doing a little thing with student clubs," Principal Morte said. "Your parents and guardians have donated photos of you guys when you were kids, and you'll be matching your clubmates with their photos," he added. "Everyone go take a clipboard and match up! You have twenty minutes." Maka cringed a bit. No doubt it was her father who donated a photo, and it was most likely going to be very, very embarrassing. _Please, please be from after I grew out of the bloomers,_ Maka thought, getting up from her seat. She let go of Crona's hand, and dashed over to the clipboards in front of the board that read "Show Choir Club 'Spartoi'." There were fifteen numbered photos of children of varying ages, the youngest being an infant, the oldest, #4, around eleven and definitely Black☆Star. He hadn't began fully dying his hair yet,

instead only having a few streaks of his neon blue. Maka immediately marked it. She also instantly spotted Tsubaki, Soul, and Kilik's photos, and marked them accordingly. The photo of herself, #7, was thankfully from an age where she had outgrown the wretched bloomers, and after marking it, Maka scanned through the others. _Grumpy-face black-haired boy? Kidd,_ she thought, marking #8. _The blond boy is Hiro, the kid in the odd glasses is Ox, bowl cut guy might be Harvar, Kim mentioned her undyed hair being reddish-blonde once, that baby girl over there must be Jackie, the picture with the two sisters in it is Liz and Patty, and the one remaining boy is Ragnarok. That leaves the adorable sad-looking kid in the black dress with the messy hair. They could only be Crona. Gosh, they’ve always been so cute. And I'm already done,_ Maka thought, turning in her clipboard. She wasn't first to, that honor went to Kim, who put a hand on Maka's shoulder as she put her clipboard down.

    "Come with me," Kim said. "The competitive clubs get an excuse to leave right after this, so not like we'll be doing any more by staying."

    "Don't you have to fill out the one for cheer?" Maka asked.

    "Shit," Kim replied. "Wait right here," she added, dashing back off. Maka waited for a few minutes, until Kim came back, turning in her second clipboard. "Come on," she said, motioning for Maka to come with her.

 

    Kim led Maka into one of the girls' bathrooms, and stood by one of the sinks. "So, what exactly is up with you and Crona?" she asked.

    "That's what you called me here for? To gossip?" Maka asked in return. She sighed. "We're just really close friends... who might just have a teensy bit of a mutual crush on each other."

    "Explains all the hand-holding, then," Kim replied. "And not to mention a few people catching glances of some really emotional hugging, and even someone from your class told me at cheer that you were going to say yes when they tried to ask you to the Fall Formal back then," she added. "That's not very platonic, Albarn."

    "I know!" Maka exclaimed. _That was it, that was the spark_ , she thought. _That might just've been my first realization, and I wasn't even fully aware of it back then. But now I see._

    "Okay, I'm gonna run a little test to see how deep this all goes," Kim said. "First up, do you think they're cute?"

    "Hell yeah," Maka replied.

    "Now would you kiss them if you had the chance?" she asked. Maka felt herself blush slightly. "On the mouth?" Kim added.

    "Yes," Maka replied, feeling all fluttery inside.

    "Okay, so we've solidified the quintessential romantic base," Kim started, grinning in a manner that Maka felt to be slightly intimidating, like she was planning something further. "What about tongue?" Kim asked. Maka's face turned bright red, and by the looks of it, the flustered expression she was making seemed humorous to Kim. Kim chuckled. "So that's also a yes?" she asked.

    "That's an 'only if and when we're both ready'," Maka replied, stammering a bit. She took a deep breath.

    "Okay then," Kim said, not believing a word of that. "How about anything further?" she asked. Maka gasped.

    "I haven't thought of going really far with them, actually," Maka stammered. "We're just freshmen," she added. "I'm not even ready for that stuff myself."

    "You're beet red, Albarn," Kim noted. "Well, just judging by the first two questions, we've covered a few really telling bases, plus we eliminated the possibility of it just being mindless lust," she added. "I expect a fee for my services beyond this point."

    "I'm not going to pay for romantic advice," Maka replied. "I can just ask Tsubaki," she added. "Although, your test has me thinking... do you feel that way on any of that stuff towards Ox?" Maka asked. Kim looked taken aback. She took a few steps back toward the sinks, and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

    "Of course not," she sighed. "I've just gotten sick of him, that's all." Kim looked back over at Maka. "For three years straight, he's been hitting on me, asking me out at every turn, he even preemptively asked me to senior prom when we were freshmen. Freshmen. I've rejected him every time, but he's still at it like some sort of stalker. Although all the gifts and money he's showered me with over these past three years were really nice, I just thought it was time to finally get him off my back once and for all. I only agreed to one pity date, but now he's been going around our classes telling everyone I'm his girlfriend. I'm not even interested in him, and I never have been. He needs a romantic life that isn't so obsessive, that's all I want for him. Go ahead, tell me I'm a cruel bitch. That I'm heartless. I don't care. I know that I should probably be into him now after all these years of his romantic pursuit and a pity date that didn't even go well," she said, as Maka stood there, looking at her with worried eyes. "Go ahead and say it," Kim said.

    "You're not being too cruel at all," Maka replied. "Have you cleared it up with the class, at least?"

    "Don't you think I've tried?" Kim asked in return, her annoyance at the situation welling up. "I only thought of this damn pity date in desperation, and now I know it's going to make him worse about it," she added, her voice cracking up. "I just want to get him off my back." Kim said, tears forming in her eyes. Maka walked up to Kim and held her tight. "I'm even in love with someone else, but I can't tell this person how I feel if I'm 'in a relationship' with someone else because it'll cause a whole host of other problems."

    "It's going to be okay," Maka said. The sting of those words coming off her tongue gave Maka a nasty feeling. If Ox was that tenacious to begin with, wouldn't he get worse after being dumped? "Hopefully this'll work and you won't have to do anything more, but I'll be here for you even if it fails, okay?"

    "That's exactly what Tsubaki told me yesterday, but thanks" Kim groaned despite a genuine smile, successfully holding her tears back. _Huh, guess she isn't really a crier_ , Maka thought, letting go. Kim walked back up to the mirrors. "Whew," Kim sighed. "I can't believe I almost cried in front of you. Don't speak of this to anyone," she added, as Jackie walked into the bathroom.

    "Kim, were you about to cry?" Jackie asked, noticing the subtle difference in Kim's face. "What's wrong?"

    "Um," Kim started, dodging the question. "I... well, Maka, if you like them and they like you back, what's the harm in them knowing?" she asked, putting on her former bravado. "You know when it all sparked, and you only live once, so get out there!" Kim exclaimed, her voice still having the little crackle in it.

    "Okay!" Maka replied, giving Kim a thumbs up. _Jackie can take it from here,_ _she knows Kim far better than I do._

    "Okay, Kim, what's wrong?" Jackie asked as Maka exited the bathroom. Maka heard a muffled cry out in the distance as she continued walking. _Oh, maybe I should go back..._

    "Miss Albarn, you really should be heading to your clubroom," Medusa said, catching Maka by surprise. "Don't worry about Miss Dupre or Miss Diehl, they'll be fine," she added. _Did she hear everything in there?_ Maka thought, as Medusa walked back off to supervise those in the gym.

 

    Maka walked over to the choir room, where a smattering of Spartoi, save for Ox, Harvar, Kim, and Jackie were sitting on the floor in a circle.

    "Kim and Jackie coming?" Kilik asked.

    "They'll be here in a bit," Maka replied. "Where are Ox and Harvar?"

    "Mathletes," Spirit replied. "Their statewide competition's next week," he added, as Maka took the empty space between Soul and Crona. "Going against a few STEM-focused schools, so they need to give it their all if they want our team to have its first win in over twenty years."

    "Who the hell cares about that nerd crap?" Ragnarok asked, nudging Crona over, who nearly landed against Maka had they not caught themself. Crona gave Ragnarok a confused look that he paid no attention to.

    "Should we wait for Kim and Jackie to get here before we start practice?" Kidd asked Spirit, as Ragnarok continued ranting.

    "We'll give them a few minutes," Spirit replied. "Besides, we're gonna do a team-building exercise first anyway."

    "Ooh, what?" Patty asked, as the door opened, and Kim and Jackie walked in, taking the space between Kidd and Kilik. Kim had cleared up all the evidence of her crying, and looked very composed.

    "We'll each be sharing one tidbit of information about ourselves that we have never told anybody else, ever," Spirit replied. "Soul, you'll start," Spirit said. What color was left drained from Soul's face. _This'll be good._

    "Uh, I've... never confessed something I've never told anyone else on New Year's Eve," Soul replied.

    "That was weak, bro," Black☆Star said. "I'll go next," he added. "I once accidentally stole something from my grandparents' house several years ago because I forgot I left it in my pocket before dinner. It wasn't too valuable, so I don't think I'm screwed. Tsubaki?"

    "I knew about that all along but never said anything," Tsubaki sighed. "That's my admission," she added, turning to the Thompson sisters.

    "We're not rich," Patty said. "I'm only able to be here due to cheerleading scholarships, and for the three years she was on the squad, Liz too. To afford her senior year, our dads bought a lottery ticket in desperation. Thank God we actually won enough out of it."

    "Patty, you and I don't actually have the same father," Liz said. "I'm so sorry I hadn't told you, I still feel so guilty about not doing that," she added, tearing up. _Well, this got intense._

    "Sis?" Patty asked, putting a hand on Liz's shoulder. "Is that true?" she asked, her expression growing more and more disillusioned, like she was losing all her grasp on what she knew about life. "We're still sisters, right?"

    "Yes, Patty, we're still sisters," Liz sobbed, hugging her. "We're still sisters," Liz repeated a few times.

    "Okay, maybe admissions were a bad idea," Spirit whispered to Maka. He walked over to Crona and whispered something to them. Crona nodded their head, and slowly started to stand up.

    "Wait!" Hiro exclaimed. The whole room turned to him, which was an unusual occurrence. "I have to get this off my chest before Ox gets here," he said. "I... I once had a makeout dream with Kim and Crona and I think I might now have a thing for short pink hair."

    "Okay, no more admissions," Spirit said, noticing the looks on Kim and Crona’s faces. Kim brought her hand to her forehead and gritted her teeth. Crona pinched the long pink strand at the right edge of their bangs, before looking back at Hiro in disgust.

    "Kim, I know you're taken and I respect that," Hiro started, getting up and taking a few steps toward Crona. "But you..." he started, hearing a few "no, Hiro"s from the crowd. "Crona, I know you're not really my type, you know, flat-chested and not girlish enough, but..."

    "You're not really my type either," Crona replied in disgust.

    "Really?" Hiro asked, crossing his arms defensively. "What kind of boys are your type anyway?"

    "Girls," Crona replied. Jackie's face lit up. Black☆Star grabbed Soul by the arm and started yelling.

    "OOOOOOOOOHHH! Did you see that? Did you freaking SEE THAT?" he shouted. "Hiro just got shut. DOWN."

    "Psh, we know it wouldn't happen anyway," Soul replied, giving Maka a side-eyed glance. Maka groaned.

    "You guys are making too much of a big deal over this," she replied. "So what if they like girls? Not something to be shouting this much about, jeez," Maka added, turning to look Hiro right in the eye. "People like who they like."

    "Everyone, start warming up, we've got a state final at the end of January!" Spirit announced.

    Spartoi slowly got up from the circle, and spread out into a staggered formation to begin their stretches. Maka stared at the cracked-open door. _What would I have even confessed had it gotten to me?_ _My feelings for Crona are out, since Kim kinda knows and would probably point that out. Also, I'd rather tell them in a one-on-one situation, not with everyone else here. I guess there was that one thing from fourth grade that nobody knows about._ Maka felt goosebumps form on her arms. _On second thought, no, not that._ She turned around and began warming up. Someone turned on some warmup music for everyone to listen to as they stretched. Maka could feel it in her leg muscles as she did a few lunges. Jackie grabbed her ankle and pulled her leg up as high as it could go. Soul did the barest minimum that could count for a stretch, as he was not very flexible. He unknowingly made the mistake of standing with several of the most flexible members, however, and was soon silently judged. Maka got up and did a few more arm stretches until she could really feel the pulls in her biceps.

 

    Spartoi continued to practice over the next few hours until a senior entered the room. "Yo Ragnarok, Liz, s'about time for the prank," he said.

    "Is it eleven thirty already?" Liz asked, looking at the clock. "Come on, Black☆Star," she said. Black☆Star let out a triumphant "hyaa-haa!" and dashed out the choir room. "Look, I'm only doing one, since I gotta get back in order to ring in the new year with Tsubaki," Liz grumbled, picking up her bag and heading out, Patty following her. Ragnarok grabbed his bag in one hand, and Crona's arm with the other.

    "Come on," Ragnarok said.

    "Wait, I don't actually want to-" Crona protested, before Ragnarok let out a quasi-battle cry to drown them out.

    "Well, I guess we gotta head to the gym," Soul said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

    "Yeah, Maka replied, as Spirit began leading the rest of Spartoi out.

 

    Once they got to the gym, Maka sat down between Soul and Tsubaki, as Principal Morte tapped the mic a few times.

    "I hope Liz gets back in time," Tsubaki said.

    "You don't have to do a New Year's kiss right at midnight, right?" Soul asked, as Principal Morte leaned against the podium and did a mic test.

    "Well, otherwise it'd just be a regular kiss, so..." Tsubaki said, as the Mathletes returned to the gym.

    "Did they just spend three hours doing math?" Kilik asked in bewilderment. "Damn," he added, as Ox started loudly and frantically searching for Kim in the crowd. Soul and Tsubaki kept chattering on as to what exactly constituted a New Year's kiss, while a few other kids shuffled around seats, no doubt to be closer to their sweethearts. _I wonder what it would be like to kiss someone for New Year's?_ Maka thought, an image of Crona entering her mind for a fleeting moment. _I haven't even confessed, and yet here I am picturing our New Year's kiss,_ Maka thought.

    "Here he comes," Jackie said, pointing to Ox. "Kim, what are you going to do?"

    "Just sit between us the whole time, okay, Jackie?" Kim asked.

    "Sure," Jackie replied, putting an arm around Kim. Ox turned a corner and ran to the podium. "What the hell?" Jackie asked, perplexed.

    "This announcement is for Kim Diehl!" Ox shouted. Kim muttered "no" a few times.

    "Ox Ford, what are you doing?" Principal Morte asked. Kim muttered "no" a few more times, increasing in volume.

    "Kim, you are the light of my life, my joy, my eternal happiness," Ox started, yelling into the microphone as his words echoed across the gym. Kim buried her face in her hands. "I love you more than anything or anyone else on this entire planet! In this entire universe! If you counted all the stars in all the galaxies, they still wouldn't be as bright as our love! Kim, you are my angel, my destiny, my eternity! You are a breath of fresh air in a toxic wasteland, an oasis in the world's largest desert, the purest drop of water in the largest of oceans, and a shining, three hundred carat diamond in a mountain of pebbles!"

    "Are you done?" Principal Morte asked.

    "Kim, your radiant beauty can outshine every supermodel in the entire world, every last waterfall in their secluded springs, and even the goddess Aphrodite, but above all, you are my beloved! The one girl I have ever loved, and the only one I will ever love for all eternity!" Ox proclaimed. "You used to think that no earthly human could ever deserve a goddess like you, and then here you are, after my three years of dedication, finally saying the one person who deserves you is me," he added. "Thank you, Kim." Ox dropped the mic and walked back into the crowd. Principal Morte picked up the mic and began testing it to make sure it still worked, as Liz and Patty returned to the gym, slipping into the crowd. Liz ended up sitting next to Tsubaki, and Patty next to Liz.

    "Am I dead?" Kim asked. "Did I die of embarrassment?"

    "What did you think of my speech?" Ox asked, approaching Kim. "Gotta get my truest feelings out to my girlfriend before year's end," he added. "Now we just gotta wait for the new year to be rung in."

    "Hey! Hi! What's up?" Principal Morte greeted. "We're at the end of a wonderful year, sigh, it feels like just yesterday I did last year's speech. Well, we've still got a few more minutes until the new year hits, so if anyone has anything they want to finish so they don't have any regrets before the new year hits, hurry on out and do it!"

    "Patty, when are Black☆Star and Crona going to get back?" Maka asked, an idea catching her head as Principal Morte kept on with his speech.

    "Last year, the prank was still being set up past midnight, and with less people on TP duty this year, I think they aren't going to be back for a while," Patty replied. "I did manage to spray-paint three really big dicks on the roof so there's that," she added.

    "I have to go do something real quick," Maka said, getting up from her seat and leaving the gym. The tapping sound of her feet as she sprinted on to the principal's office kept going through her head, each tap feeling like a ticking clock, slowly running out of time. Maka arrived at the principal's office, catching her breath. The door creaked open, revealing a room covered in toilet paper, and seven teens throwing more in.

    "Maka, you want a roll?" Black☆Star asked, holding out a roll of toilet paper. "Office is almost fully covered, so you better hurry."

    "Where's Crona?" Maka asked, frantically looking around, as sweat came off her chin, drop by drop.

    "They handed me all their rolls before going back to the choir room," Black☆Star replied. "I really think they didn't want to do this."

    "Black☆Star..." Maka began, panting. "Do you think New Year's is a good time to confess your love to someone? Because there's someone... someone I have in mind." Black☆Star's eyes lit up, and he gasped.

    "Aww, Maka," he replied. "I'm sorry, but I really don't feel the same way towards you, this is all so sudden, like all the signs seemed to be pointing towards you and Crona, but..."

    "Black☆Star..." Maka said through gritted teeth. "You know who I'm talking about," she added. Black☆Star laughed.

    "I know, I know," Black☆Star replied. "Just go," he said. Maka took a deep breath and started off towards the choir room, Black☆Star following after her.

 

    Maka paused at the door to the choir room. _My chest just feels like this because of the running, doesn't it?_ Maka took a few more deep breaths and turned around. _He's still here. Black_ _☆_ _Star is still here._

    "Why did you follow me?" Maka hissed.

    "I'm your wingman," Black☆Star replied.

    "I don't need a wingman, this is Crona we're talking about," Maka said. "Just, go and ring in the new year with everyone, okay?" she asked.

    "So you don't need a wingman?" Black☆Star asked in return.

    "Yes," Maka confirmed. "Just go." Maka watched as Black☆Star shrugged his shoulders, and made his way back out to the gym. _He's still holding a roll of toilet paper,_ Maka thought. She grabbed the doorknob to the all-too-familiar room, and opened it. Her heart was racing, and she could feel it pounding in her chest. Crona looked up at her from the corner, where they were curled up, zipping their bag shut.

    "Maka," they said. "I was just about to head back to the gym." Maka felt the fluttering feelings in her chest escalate. _Don't panic, don't panic,_ she thought.

    "C-could you just stay here for a bit longer?" Maka asked. "I have something to tell you." _That's it. There's no going back now. You have to spit it out._ Maka tried to wipe the sweat from her palms off onto her shirt.

    "What is it?" Crona asked, getting up from the floor. _The words are on the tip of my tongue,_ Maka thought, taking a deep breath. _I'll do it._

    "I... I'm in love with you," Maka replied, face turning bright red. Her heartbeat felt like it was going faster and faster as she took a few steps closer, where she was within arm's distance. The room no longer felt like part of the school, but an isolated location, as if there was no way out. Like it was its own little space for just the two of them. Crona didn't seem to know how to react at first, seeming speechless. _Oh gosh, did I mess up?_ Maka thought, feeling like she was going to regret everything she said. The pounding in her chest became unbearable. Suddenly, Crona's look of bewilderment turned to that one little smile. A wave of relief hit Maka on sight. _I could see them smile forever,_ she thought, brushing a longer strand of her bangs aside.

    "I love you too," Crona said.

    "I'm so glad," Maka replied. "I really love you," she said, relaxing her posture. Crona threw their arms around Maka, hugging her tightly. Maka's slight smile turned into a huge grin, as she hugged them back. "I love you," she repeated, as the intercom came on, and the end of Principal Morte's speech echoed through the halls. _Everyone's just about ready to ring in the New Year,_ Maka thought. _Pretty soon, they'll all be counting down to midnight, and they'll all cheer, the couples will kiss, and the seniors who were spray-painting will come back to the gym as if nothing had happened, as if they weren't doing anything unusual. And here I am_. _Here I am, just with one of my best friends in the entire word, and I just told them I loved them. What does this mean for us, are we now something new?_ she pondered, as the two partially broke off from their hug. The countdown began as they gazed into each other's eyes. Ten, nine, eight. _Well, it is New Year's after all, so what if I..._ Maka thought. _Hmm, would they even go for it? I guess there's only way_

_to find out._

    "I know this might be a bit sudden, but can I kiss you?" she asked. Seven, six, five, four. Maka's heart began racing all over again awaiting a response. Just saying it made her feel all fluttery like never before.

    "Yes," Crona stammered, blushing slightly. Maka felt a flash of heat go through her face. Crona leaned down a bit, and Maka stood up on her toes. "Wait, which one of us is going to lead?" Crona asked, as Maka laid her left hand on the side of their face to steady herself.

    "We'll go together," Maka replied, closing her eyes. Three, two, one. "Ready?" she asked. Crona gave a slight nod. A shout of "Happy New Year!" rang over the intercom as the two of them leaned in, their lips meeting as the applause from the gym rang out, officially signifying a new calendar year was upon the academy. It started as a quick peck, with the first thing Maka noticed being that Crona had the softest lips of anyone she had ever kissed. Breaking it off for barely half a second, she couldn't help but smile a bit before going back to kissing them. And Crona kissed her in return, resting their hand to the middle of her back to support her a bit more, one of their slender fingers just barely brushing against her spine. Neither of them ever opened their lips very much, feeling like this alone was all they needed for now. They ended the kiss as the celebration died down, before pulling each other into a tight embrace. Maka swore she felt something else right there, something new and different, and she really liked it. She rested her chin on Crona's shoulder, a bit of their unkempt pink hair inevitably brushing against her nose. But she didn't mind that, not one bit. This was their moment together, away from all the chaos of the few hundred still in the gym. Had her confession and their kiss been there, there was little doubt in Maka's mind that it would have been nowhere near as sweet as this.

 

    "Happy New Year," Maka said.


	16. Chapter 16

    The first three weeks of the second semester should have begun with a slow, dull, hell of a readjustment process, switching to the slow, dull hell of monotony. But it didn't. Maka looked to the football field, but due to it being January, and the team losing their last game, nobody would have been there for an early morning practice anyway. She walked up the stairs to the school door, hearing her father park the car in the distance. The school looked exactly the same as usual, with the hallways bustling with all the same people. It was a comforting sight, reassuring Maka that nothing seemed to be wrong. Though as she made her way to the lockers, a different yet unfortunately familiar sound made its way to her ears, and the accompanying sight was enough to spiral everything out of control. There was Tsubaki, standing directly in front of Crona's locker, holding said locker's owner as they were struggling to talk through tears. But this time was different. They sounded angry.

    "Crona!" Maka shouted, dashing over to the scene. "What happened? Is everything okay?" she frantically asked. "Oh, hi Tsubaki," she added, in an attempt to not make her older friend not seem like chopped liver. Crona wiped off their eyes and turned to look at Maka.

    "It's my mother, she's doing it again," Crona said. Maka felt her heart sink all the way down past her stomach. _Why? Why would she do this? Is it because of the kiss? Does she know? I mean, it's been three weeks, she has to have found out by now._

    "I didn't even know there was a first time before this," Tsubaki said. "I just thought you had a really high metabolism, but not much of an appetite. Oh, I should've said something."

    "There's nothing you could've done to prevent it, Tsubaki," Crona replied, trying to reassure her.

    "The fuck's this sap-fest about?" Ragnarok asked, walking to the hall with Black☆Star, both of them wearing their football uniforms. _They apparently did have practice_ , Maka thought, walking over to Crona and Tsubaki. She placed a hand on Crona's shoulder.

    "It's Lady Medusa," Crona replied. "She noticed I wasn't in the gym when everyone was ringing in the new year. She asked me if I had snuck off and kissed someone, and not wanting to lie, I said yes." Maka felt a rush of panic. _Is all this because of me? I didn't even have to ask them, maybe it would've just been fine had I just confessed, no kiss. Or not even gone back there at all._

    "WHAT?" Ragnarok asked in disbelief. "How the hell were _YOU_ able to get a kiss on New Year's? You're a scrawny, ugly, unlovable, whiny piece of shit!"

    "The fuck's your problem?" Black☆Star asked. "You're the piece of shit," he added, dodging the inevitable punch. "You should probably continue before this gets any worse," Black☆Star said to Crona.

    "O-okay,"Crona replied. "Lady Medusa wasn't too happy about it, going on about how I shouldn't be spending my new year kissing boys, and asked 'who was this guy? I want to know what boy had the audacity to take my child's first kiss.' And that's when I told her it wasn't a boy, and that I didn't even like boys like that. I told her the truth, that it was Maka, and-"

    "Hold the fucking phone," Ragnarok said, turning to look at Maka, then back at Crona. "Yeah, who else would it have been?" he grumbled. "Bitch was pissed, wasn't she?"

    "Yes, she did get pretty angry," Crona replied. "She said she was going to start using the earpiece again, so I wouldn't go doing that stuff again, but then I told her it was back in Greece. In the sewer system. She got even angrier after that, I think that's what made her snap, and she's been awful ever since."

    "You had an earpiece, and you flushed it down a toilet?" Ragnarok asked, face lighting up. "Damn, you're getting rebellious," he added, holding out his hand for a high five. Crona, expecting him to do something else, turned their face away from him in fear. "Oh, come on." Ragnarok grumbled.

    "Earpiece?" Black☆Star shrieked. "Your mom's been recording everything you've been hearing before Christmas break?" he asked, clearly recollecting something embarrassing that happened in Crona's vicinity. "That's all kinds of fucked up. What else has she been doing?"

    "She... she's been starving me," Crona added. "That's what she started doing again. I haven't eaten much of anything since dinner on New Year's Eve. And she promised, she promised she'd stop doing this. I didn't entirely forgive Lady Medusa when she said that, but..." They paused after that, taking a deep breath. "I didn't show it. Because part of me wanted to believe it was true." they sobbed. Tsubaki was about to let go at this point, but she decided to stay holding on, as Maka joined in, squeezing on tight. I _am going to set Ms. Gorgon's stupid braid on fire,_ she thought. _No wait, she'd just put that out and I'd get suspended. Maybe I could just punch her in the face twenty-three times._

    "This ain't gonna become some sappy group hug, is it?" Ragnarok groaned, as Black☆Star ran to the other side of the hug, opposite Maka, and joined in.

    "Don't listen to him, Crona, he's a douche," Black☆Star said, clearly furious. "Tsubaki, can our parents foster another kid?"

    "Maybe, I don't know," Tsubaki replied. "I'd really like to take them in if we can."

    "I'd really like that," Crona added. "I can't take it anymore," they said, arms hanging limp against their sides as they were being hugged by three people at once. Maka moved one of her hands down to hold one of Crona's.

    "Surprised you could take it to begin with," Ragnarok said, rolling his eyes. "I mean, if I had an abusive mother, I'd punch her in the face and tell her she can't treat me like that, or I'd just leave and find somebody else."

    "Could you three let go for a second?" Crona asked. Maka, Tsubaki, and Black☆Star slowly let go of them. One shoulder of Tsubaki's blazer was covered in tear stains and snot. _How long were they here like this?_ Maka thought, noting the sheer quantity. Crona took a few steps over to Ragnarok. Being a foot shorter with no significant muscle to speak of did not intimidate him, much less the blotchy look on their face from all the crying. "You... y-you don't know what it's like, do you?" they asked. "To live in fear for fifteen years straight, and counting."

    "Are you trying to intimidate me?" Ragnarok asked, straining not to laugh at how downright puny Crona looked in comparison to him.

    "No, I'm not," Crona replied. "I couldn't just leave whenever I wanted, or else I would've already done it," they added, grabbing their left arm and holding it tight. "If I tried to run, she'd just make it worse for me, and I figured out after attempting it I had nowhere to go anyway."

    "Doesn't Maka live across the street?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Lady Medusa would surely find me if I ran to there," Crona replied. "Also, I tried running before Maka even moved there... but if I tried again now, I might just be able to get over the fence this time," they pondered, looking down at their long, willowy legs.

    "Running away won't fix your problems," Black☆Star said. "Though it'd be pretty awesome to see you clear a fence."

    "Black☆Star!" Tsubaki shouted. "They could twist their ankle doing that," she added.

    "You know what, for what she's done, we really should kick Ms. Gorgon's ass!" Black☆Star shouted. "We're gonna teach her a goddamn lesson about how you shouldn't abuse your damn children!"

    "Yeah!" Maka shouted in return.

    "I never liked her much anyway," Ragnarok said, shrugging his shoulders, as the three of them stormed off towards the nurse's office. "Plus it would be fun to see your four get expelled."

    "Wait, I know she's awful and definitely deserves justice to be handed to her, but maybe we could solve this more rationally, in a way that she _can't press charges against us for_ ," Tsubaki called out, following them. Crona followed as well.

 

    The five students maden their way to the door, but before they were to open it and give Medusa a piece of their minds, rational or not, they heard Spirit talking on the other end.

    "You know, you've been putting up a really good front working here, and it's sickening," Spirit said. "Nobody ever knew you abused your kid until they said something about it. What possessed you to even do something so horrible in the first place?" he asked. The five-minute bell rang.

    "Mr. Albarn, why did you have Maka?" Medusa asked. "Because you wanted a perfect child? Or because you knocked up the woman who'd eventually become your wife, sorry, _ex_ -wife, at senior prom, and you two decided to keep the baby?"

    "The second one," Spirit sighed. "But I love Maka regardless. She's the most perfect and most wonderful daughter I could have ever asked for."

    "You mean didn't ask for," Medusa replied. Maka felt Black☆Star try to wriggle to the front to see through the windowed door.

    "You are dodging the subject," Sprit said, more enraged than he already was. "Tell me why you did those awful things to Crona."

    "I don't appreciate you barging into my office and demanding I reveal every detail of my life as a mother, but if it would satisfy your curiosity," Medusa began. "I wanted my child to be perfect. I went through every sperm bank in the state to find genetic material to create it, but the result, after nine months of suffering when pregnant, a health complication in the third trimester, and nearly eighteen hours in excruciatingly painful labor where I nearly died, was something I never felt that connection of love for. I could've had it adopted out right in the beginning, but I didn't want to have gone through all that horror for nothing. This child was going to have to be made into something worth all that pain, no matter how much it suffered for me to achieve this goal."

    "I know pregnancy is a difficult time, but if your thoughts afterwards are 'let this child suffer', you-"

    "Look, raising an infant by yourself is such an awful struggle, and if it weren't for the support my late great-grandmother so generously left me from her will, I could never have managed to have this child still under my wing. And you will never have any idea what pregnancy is truly like because you'll never experience it! And let me tell you one thing about actively raising a child, which I'm sure you don't know either, it only gets worse. I often find myself wishing I never had Crona, and it knows I feel this way about it. All I feel when I look at such a worthless child is contempt."

    "I was a stay-at-home dad for eight years straight so Maka's mother could go back to school to become a lawyer, I know what raising a child is like, and you are doing it wrong!" Spirit yelled. _Now she's done it! Maybe we aren't going to be the ones to punch her._

    "There is no wrong way to be a mother," Medusa replied. "I did what I did to make sure Crona turned out to my liking, but it's still not working after fifteen years, and I'm afraid I warped it too much for anything else to work. I saw the look of uncertainty in its eyes when I feigned forgiveness, but fear is such a better motivator than love. Love will expect forgiveness, but fear, fear will expect punishment. And by taking away food, something so fundamentally needed, until my child will do what I want, I felt I was sure in my methods to shape it into someone unquestionably loyal to myself and the Gorgon name. And as a bonus, I saved enough money on food that I was able to go ahead and pay Crona's tuition for here for the full year, so it was only because I did what I did that it's at the best private high school in the state. But I think I may have gone too far. It became spineless, and can't take care of itself. And I'm getting too old to discard it and try again, if only it wasn't so expensive to freeze my ova when I was in my twenties. I made worse an already ruined child that nearly killed me from the beginning, but I still feel I can't let go. Is that what motherly love is truly like?"

    "I can't believe what I'm hearing," Maka said, turning behind her to see Crona had left. "Crona?" Maka asked, running off down the hall in the direction she assumed they went in. "Crona?" she called out, as the bell rang. _Shit. For the first time ever, I'm late for class. But I don't want to leave them behind,_ she thought, turning another corner to see Crona just standing there in front of the door to their first period class. They turned around to see Maka speeding over to them. Maka instinctively threw her arms around Crona and held them tight.

    "You're not worthless," Maka said, feeling like she was going to cry.

    "I am... I know I'm not," Crona replied, sounding shaky and unsure.

    "I can't believe you only had a week or two of peace," Maka cried. _And is it my fault it's over? I messed it all up. If it weren't for what I said and did, maybe they'd still be reasonably content for even a little while longer. I don't want them to suffer,_ Maka thought, tightly gripping the sleeve of Crona's blazer.

    "And it's my fault it's all over," both of them said. "What? No, you didn't do anything wrong, it's all me."

    "If I hadn't kissed you, you wouldn't have gotten put on the spot like that on the drive back," Maka said.

    "Even if you didn't, she'd think I was lying if I said I wasn't with anyone," Crona replied. "And if I actually participated in vandalizing the office, I'd have gotten into trouble for doing that, and she'd still want to use the earpiece, and she'd still find out it was gone. I can't win, and I can't escape."

    "We'll see about that last bit," Maka said. It was a bit of a relief to know it wasn’t her fault, but everything else just… wasn’t a relief in the slightest. The classroom door opened.

    "Hey, you two," Dr. Stein, who was subbing for the class, called out. "You're not in trouble for being out here since I haven't even finished roll, so just get in here."

    "Yes, Dr. Stein," Maka and Crona replied.

 

    There was still a few minutes left of lunch hour when Maka was called to meet up with those who knew. She stood in the hall with Soul, Black☆Star, Tsubaki, Crona, and Ragnarok. The group of six were there to discuss what to do about the situation with Medusa, if there was anything they could do about it at all.

    "Okay, I believe you," Ragnarok said to Crona. "Only after hearing Medusa actually admit it to someone," he grumbled.

    "I tried calling child services between first and second period," Tsubaki said. "They told me that there already had been an investigation last month and they found nothing significant, and that if I called again, I'd be lectured for wasting time and possibly penalized," she sighed.

    "Who'd you get on the line?" Black☆Star asked. "If it was Ms. Ponera, she just does that job for the money, Mifune's the guy you really want if you wanna get shit done."

    "Mifune?" Crona asked. "Who's he?"

    "He lives on Tsubaki and I's street, and he works for child services," Black☆Star replied. "He does it for the protection of the kids, and would even risk his life for it. He even adopted one of the kids he saved, a little shit named Angela. Tsubaki and I had to babysit Angela once last year and it was hell. I make up for it by crank calling Mifune's cell with stupid stuff like putting Nicki Minaj lyrics into a text-to-speech program."

    "Oh man, I remember being there when you did that," Soul said. "Good thing he wasn't at work."

    "So this Mifune guy's the key or something?" Ragnarok asked.

    "What are you waiting for?" Maka asked. "If Mifune can help, call him!" she exclaimed, holding up her fists in front of her chest. Her eager expression prevented it from becoming a threatening gesture. She put her arm around Crona. "We just might be getting you out of there before our state final," Maka said.

    "I hope so," Crona replied, as Black☆Star went to his phone contacts and called Mifune. Black☆Star set his phone on speaker, and waited as it rang.

    "When it picks up, you tell him everything, understand?" Black☆Star asked. Crona nodded their head. There was a click.

    "Don't call me at work, Black☆Star, I know you're not in danger," a gruff voice on the other end of Black☆Star's phone said before hanging up. Black☆Star hit the call button again and waited. "What did I just say?"

    "But this is impor...tant," Black☆Star replied, as Mifune hung up mid-sentence. "I'm gonna keep trying, Crona, for your sake," Black☆Star said.

    "What's going to happen to me if this works?" Crona asked. "If I get taken away from her and end up with a different family, will I still be able to see you guys?" They grabbed their arm and moved a little closer to Maka.

    "Well, if your mom's fully paid this year's tuition, you're not gonna be leaving Shibusen, at least for this school year unless you get adopted by somebody who then moves out of town," Tsubaki replied. "After that, I don't know. This is a really expensive school, so unless you get taken in by someone with a substantial income, you won't be able to be here for the rest of your studies. But rest assured, we'll still try to see you on weekends or after school wherever you are regardless of where you go, because we're your friends."

    "And I love you," Maka added. "That's not going to change, no matter where you go."

    "Foster care system's gonna be rough, though," Black☆Star said. "I went through like five people before the Nakatsukasas took me in. The first set couldn't afford to keep me for too long, the second ones took me back because I was too loud, like I was a dog or something that they were uninformed about. Third guys got busted for doing drugs after a few years, the fourths I only stayed with for a weekend before they died in a car accident, and the fifth set of foster parents rejected me as soon as they found out I was not the little girl they originally wanted. Not to mention the long periods of time I spent at an orphanage due to people always wanting babies or toddlers, and if you're over like seven or eight years old, you stop being as adoptable as the younger ones. It sucks, but I'm glad the Nakatsukasas didn't ever change their mind about wanting someone as great as me!"

    "So what you're saying is Crona's gonna end up staying in an orphanage until they're eighteen because nobody's gonna want a mopey teenager with anxiety?" Ragnarok asked. "Shit, it's just not gonna stop sucking to be you, is it?"

    "I don't know, some of the kids that were abuse survivors got extra sympathy from some people because of their plight, so they might have an advantage due to that," Black☆Star began. "But don't worry, Tsubaki's gonna convince our parents to take you in if they can, right?"

    "I'll see if we can!" Tsubaki said. "I'd really like it if we were able to take you in," she added to Crona. Ragnarok shoved Maka off of Crona.

    "Look, I've got a plan too," he said. "If Black☆Star can't get that guy's help by the weekend we're doing State, we're going with the plan I thought up, okay?"

    "And what plan is that?" the other five asked.

    "Not like you four are going to be involved," Ragnarok replied. "It's just gonna be me and Crona. I already got permission from the snake bitch to have you sleep over that night, so it's not like you have a choice."

    "Accepting what?" Crona asked.

    "It's not safe to talk about it here with her possibly being able to hear, so I'll tell you on the night before we leave for State, you know, when we're actually going to do this," Ragnarok replied, storming off. There was a pause as the five teens pondered Ragnarok's actions. Black☆Star attempted to call Mifune again, but it went to voicemail. The five-minute bell rang.

    "Damn it, we gotta get to class," Soul groaned, as Black☆Star tried to call Mifune again. "He's gonna block your number if you keep doing that," Soul said, as the group began splitting off to their respective classes.

 

    When it got around to time for Spartoi's practice session, Maka couldn't help but notice how everything was going with the others during warmup. Kidd, Liz, and Patty were coordinating their stretches, Kim was standing on the other side of the room from Ox, who kept trying to inch in closer to her. Harvar kept pulling him back to his spot in the formation. while Jackie was sitting with Kilik, helping him with his vocal warmups. Hiro was presumably absent that day for an unknown reason. All were blissfully unaware as to what was happening to one of their own. Black☆Star's phone rang.

    "Oh my God!" he shouted, picking it up and answering it. "I'm so glad you answered my ca... no, I don't know a Mike. This isn't Mifune, is it? No? Well, you have the wrong number." Black☆Star hung up.

    "Give me your cell phone, Black☆Star," Spirit said.

    "If someone named Mifune calls, can I have it back? It's really important," Black☆Star asked.

    "You get it back at the end of practice regardless as to who calls," Spirit replied, putting Black☆Star's phone in a rather large Tupperware container labeled "Confiscated Phones". Black☆Star's phone rang again halfway through practice, but Spirit wouldn't let him have it. The suspense as to who called was slowly eating away at Maka and the others who knew as she practiced "Walking On Sunshine" for what felt like the two hundredth time. Coach Barrett arrived with Hiro, who had apparently been shoved into his own locker by an unknown assailant, where he remained for over an hour. Nobody claimed responsibility, and Hiro joined practice.

 

    The next two days remained just as tense as the last. Black☆Star couldn't get a hold of Mifune's cell due to circumstance, which Soul attributed to Mifune blocking his number. Practice for the state final was becoming more and more exhausting, with Maka straining to find a balance between practicing for her duties as a lead vocalist, and doing everything she could for Crona. _But if I had to pick one, I'd put Crona over State in a heartbeat_ , she thought, pulling out a tiny Ziploc bag of trail mix from her blazer pocket.

    "Thank you," Crona said, opening the bag and taking a few bites.

    "You're welcome," Maka replied, yawning.

    "Are you losing sleep over me?" Crona asked.

    "Sort of. I've only had two full nights of sleep this past week, but thank goodness last night was one of them," Maka replied. "I should've just given the lead to Tsubaki." she sighed, as the two of them continued their walk to the choir room. On the way there, they saw Miss Mjolnir yelling at Ragnarok over his treatment of Crona. Black☆Star then peeked out of the choir room door, obviously listening in, and ushered Maka and Crona in. He showed Crona something on his phone, and whispered something to them.

    "No, just tell Maka and I out here," Crona replied.

    "Well if you say so," Black☆Star said, walking back outside with Maka and Crona. "Okay, I'm going to read the email," he said to them. Spirit hadn't yet shown up, it seemed he was running late. Crona quickly peeked down the hall at Ragnarok and Miss Mjolnir, before closing the choir room door. "I decided to email Mifune instead of call him and he responded after his shift that day," Black☆Star explained. "Okay, here goes: Black☆Star, I'll see what I can do. Unfortunately, an official investigation had already been done on the Gorgons, and Ms. Ponera reported no evidence of any physical abuse. Ms. Gorgon explained Crona's emaciated figure as the result of an eating disorder, and convinced Ms. Ponera that the allegations made against her were false. Since the allegations were mostly of psychological abuse, it's harder to gain evidence for that since it doesn't always leave any immediately noticeable physical damage. We're trained in noticing the signs, so Ms. Ponera shouldn't have made a mistake, but I'm one hundred percent sure Ms. Gorgon pulled something on her end, since in the report she was noted to be often speaking for her child and not giving them any chances to speak up, claiming they were mute. So I'm going to try and convince my superiors to have me do another investigation, but in the meantime, I need more evidence for a warrant, so if you have anything, please tell me." Black☆Star read. "On the bright side, he believes me," he added, opening the door back up to the choir room.

    "Man, our school losing the Mathletes tournament was the worst thing happening to anyone here right now," Ox said, proving that the choir room door was more soundproof than Maka initially thought.

    "Are you sure, Ox?" Jackie asked

    "Is it all right to keep them ignorant on what's happening?" Maka asked Crona.

    "I don't want to crush their morale right before state finals," Crona replied, their voice starting to gain hints of fear as Spirit walked in.

    "Okay, who's ready for our second-to last... what happened here?" Spirit asked, glancing at Maka, Crona, and Black☆Star. "You're terrified," he added, looking down at Crona, who was visibly shaking.

    "I'm going to be fine," they stuttered, as Maka put an arm around them to try and steady them. She slowly blinked, trying not to nod off due to lack of sleep.

    "It's gonna be okay, we're all here to help you," Liz said, approaching Crona. She put up her hand to possibly give them a friendly pat on the shoulder, but midway through, she decided against it. "What's wrong?" she asked. The rest of Spartoi got up from their chairs in a manner between one-by-one and all together, and all of them walked over to the same place in the choir room, right by the door, where Crona and Maka were. Some were silent, but some held out a hand.

    "Is there anything any of us can do?" Kilik asked, as the door flung open.

    "Shut your ass," Ragnarok replied, barging in. "I've got a plan that we're doing this Friday, so if that doesn't work, then you guys can get off your asses, but until then, let me fucking handle it," he told a Spartoi that was still mostly in the dark.

    "What did I tell you about using the F-word during practice?" Spirit asked.

    "We ain't practicing right now from the looks of it," Ragnarok replied, walking to the center of the room. "Look, you little assholes can just do your emotional support shit, I don't care," he said, as Miss Mjolnir walked in, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

    "Ragnarok, I wasn't done with you," she fumed.

    "Go get him, Miss Mjolnir!" Black☆Star exclaimed.

    "Yeah!" Maka added.

    "Who the hell cares, you one-eyed rigid idiot?" Ragnarok asked. "You're just mad I take out all my anger on my cousin instead of on the shitty little stress ball you gave me two years ago!" he yelled.

    "Yes, I am! Bullying is not something we tolerate here at Shibusen!" Miss Mjolnir shouted. "My office. Now," she demanded. Ragnarok raised both his middle fingers.

    "Screw you, eyepatch," he said. "I ain't going nowhere."

    "You are unless you want three hours detention every day after school for the next six weeks," Miss Mjolnir replied. Ragnarok froze up.

    "Not this Friday, right?" he asked.

    "As long as you come with me, it won't be any day at all," Miss Mjolnir replied. "Deal?" she asked. Ragnarok grumbled a bit, before accepting. He reluctantly followed Marie out of the choir room. The rest of Spartoi fell silent, as Spirit paced over to his docking station, internally debating whether or not to start warm-up. A few took to the center of the room, preparing for when he did possibly start up the music. Crona buried their face into Maka's shoulder, tightly holding onto her. _Are they going to cry?_ Maka thought, hugging them back in a silent gesture of reassurance.

    "I'll give you two a few more minutes, while everyone warms up," Spirit said. "Everyone else go to the center of the room," he said, again putting on the commanding voice of an authority figure instead of the voice of a concerned father like he had been doing. Maka tuned out his conversation with the others, just focusing on Crona, and reassuring them.

    "It'll be over soon," Maka said. "You're safe here right now, with all of us here," she added, becoming misty-eyed. "It's gonna be okay." She desperately hoped that wouldn't end up becoming a lie.

    "I... I don't think I can take it here anymore," Crona replied, their voice shaking. "I need to be somewhere quiet," they added.

    "We can go there, then," Maka said, trying to smile despite her emotions not agreeing with it. "Come on, where do you want to go?" she asked, letting go of Crona and creaking open the door. "We'll be back in a bit," she said to Spirit as she left the room. Crona followed her out, closing the door behind them.

    "I need some fresh air," they said, walking off in the direction of the football field. Maka walked with them outside, the cold January air blowing at them on this windy day. Crona began to shiver, so Maka took off her blazer and draped it over their shoulders.

    "Here," she said. _It's so peaceful out here when it's just the two of us,_ she thought, shivering due to a lack of layers beyond her button-up shirt. The cold wind lightly blew up her skirt, causing the hem to flutter in the breeze. Maka felt the chilling sensation on her thighs, despite wearing a thick pair of tights. _It's so cold,_ she thought, as Crona lifted her blazer off their shoulders. They draped it back over Maka, before breathing out warm air onto their hands.

    "You need this more than I do," they said, breathing out again. Maka did the same, since neither of them were wearing gloves, or anything else besides their uniforms. _Perhaps coming outside in the middle of January wasn't such a good idea,_ Maka thought, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

    "We should've gotten our coats out of our lockers," she said. _Though that wouldn't really be helping my hands or thighs._ Maka looked out over the football field, in all its hundred yards of vacant expanse from goalpost to goalpost. The way the sharp green and white of the artificial turf looked against the dry, beige desert ground and the gray winter sky created a glaring contrast that Maka couldn't look at for very long.

    "How much time do we have left before the period ends?" Crona asked, as Maka slipped her arms back through the sleeves of her blazer.

    "About forty minutes," she sighed, sounding a bit tired.

    "Maka, are you okay?" Crona asked, putting a hand on Maka's shoulder.

    "I'm fine, just a bit tired," Maka replied. "Are you okay?" she asked, setting her hand atop Crona's, and squeezing onto their fingers, hoping for even the slightest bit of additional warmth.

    "I doubt I've ever been," Crona replied. "Maybe, maybe I do need to escape," they added, looking across the football field.  Maka huddled in closer not only for warmth, but for affection. "I'm glad you still believe me."

    "I promise I'll call again," she said. "I don't care about practice right now, I don't even care that much that it's cold, I just want you to be free from her."

    "Maka," Crona said, noticing how Maka was breaking down into tears as she held them close. They couldn't stop themself from doing the same.


	17. Chapter 17

    "I guess I'll be seeing you all at State," Crona said. They sighed, looking out from the choir room doorway at the vast expanse of hallways. Crona walked off to the freshman locker halls, and started entering the combination to their locker. The lock made a small click, and Crona cautiously opened the door and took out their overnight bag.

    "What's that for?" Maka asked from her own locker, eyeing the overnight bag.

    "Ragnarok told me to pack this," Crona replied. "He told me the plan yesterday. Apparently, it requires staying at his house overnight so Lady Medusa's less likely to mess it up. That's all I know."

    "That still sounds a bit sketchy," Maka said.

    "Yeah," Crona replied. "I've never been there before," they added. _That's just making this all sound worse. I know she's going to be worried for me, but will it be as much as I'm worried for myself? Okay, remember what Miss Mjolnir said, think of best and worst case scenarios, and what's most likely to happen. Best case, everything'll turn out okay. Worst case, I'll get murdered. Most likely... I'll get yelled at, at least once._

    "I'm not surprised," Maka replied. "Considering how he treats you normally, I wouldn't think 'hey, I should go over to his house' would be a thought you'd have very often," she added. _Okay, but how likely is it I'll die?_

    "That's an understatement," Crona said. "But realistically, I'm not going to die, right?" they asked, as Soul walked by, reminding Maka about the bus.

    "In a second!" Maka called out. "Jeez, after that one afternoon we missed it," she grumbled, looking over her shoulder, before looking right back at Crona. "Anyway..." Maka started, right as Crona grabbed onto her hand. Maka raised her eyebrows a bit in surprise.

    "Maka, before we go, can I... can I kiss you?" Crona asked. _If the worst happens over there, I at least want to know how it feels to have a kiss goodbye._

    "Of course!" Maka beamed, her face turning to a bright smile. Maka rested her hands on Crona's shoulders, and stood up on her tiptoes to be at a better level. The two of them leaned in together, closing their eyes, and kissed. Crona held Maka close, trying to take in the brief serenity of this moment. It was still nice, but there was an uncertain and bittersweet air lasting for the first few seconds, before a strange calm went through the both of them. _So this is what a kiss goodbye feels like,_ Crona thought, before feeling a sharp pain hit the back of their head, like it was struck by something.

    "Break it up!" Ragnarok shouted, brandishing a broken ruler. He pushed Maka off of Crona and picked up Crona's overnight bag from the floor, carrying it alongside his own.

    "Did you just break a ruler by hitting Crona in the head with it?" Maka asked. "Are you okay?" she asked Crona. Crona stroked the back of their head, checking for splinters.

    "I'll be fine, nothing splintered," Crona replied.

    "You're coming with me," Ragnarok snapped, taking Crona by the arm and beginning to lead them down the hall.

    "Hey, wait a second!" Crona exclaimed, before looking back over at Maka. "I...uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning," they said, pausing a bit afterwards to try and pry Ragnarok's hand off their arm.

    "Goodbye, I love you!" Crona and Maka both called out to each other in an uncanny and synchronized coincidence.

    "You saps," Ragnarok groaned.

 

    After a long motorcycle ride in which Crona was the only one wearing a helmet, the two cousins arrived in a small upper middle-class neighborhood, just below the income level to support Shibusen's tuition. Ragnarok sped down the street to a brown one-story house at the end of the street. As they removed their helmet, Crona noticed it was the only unkempt house on the entire street. The paint on the siding was chipped, and there were two or three cracks in the wood on a few parts of the porch. A shingle from the roof fell off into the driveway, nearly missing a beat-up old sedan. _This is the house I'm going to be staying in?_ Crona thought, looking at all the pretty houses on the rest of the street. _How the hell could Lady Medusa approve for me to go to such a place?_

    "Good thing that didn't hit us," Ragnarok remarked, looking at the fallen shingle. "You can carry that helmet to the living room, then set it down anywhere you want, I don't care."

    "Okay," Crona stuttered in reply. Ragnarok walked up to the front door, the screen door portion already wide open, and knocked on the wooden part. He grumbled something, before unlocking it himself. The house had a strange, sort of earthy smell that Crona didn't recognize. There were several potted plants of the same green, leafy variety in the windowsill.

    "Dad, are you here?" Ragnarok called out. The clattering of aluminum cans could be heard from the couch as a middle-aged man with scruffy stubble and messy hair, wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, got up from the couch. His build was similar to Ragnarok's, just less muscular.

    "What is it?" Ragnarok's father asked, as Crona took off their shoes and set them by the doorway.

    "My cousin's here to spend the night," Ragnarok replied.

    "Which one?" his father asked. "The one who owns a restaurant, the guy who fights chickens, or the one you said you really enjoy punching?"

    "The one I really enjoy punching!" Ragnarok called out. Crona gave him a harsh look.

    "The one you really enjoy punching?" they asked, as Ragnarok's father walked over.

    "So I'm finally getting to meet this one," he said. "What was your name again?" he asked. "Cora? Cruella? Mona?" he guessed.

    "Um, it's Crona," Crona replied. _I sure hope I'm handling this small talk well,_ they thought.

    "That's a strange name," Ragnarok's father said. "Although I shouldn't be talking, I mean, I named my son Ragnarok, of all things," he added, laughing.

    "Well, my mother wanted to keep up the Greek mythology theme she and one of her sisters had, so I was going to be named after either the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, or if I was assigned male at birth, the titan Cronus," Crona began to explain. "She said once she saw me for the first time, she knew I was definitely too ugly to be an Aphrodite, so she feminized Cronus as a last resort."

    "Ugly?" Ragnarok's father asked. "All newborn babies look ugly at first. Besides, what would she know? She's named after a monster. Anyway, I've got to go out for a while. You two be good while I'm gone, okay?"

    "We will!" Crona replied, as Ragnarok's father went out the front door and drove off in the sedan. _Well, I will._

    "Come on, let's make dinner," Ragnarok said. He and Crona walked off to the kitchen, which was stocked with only the basics in terms of appliances. Ragnarok opened the pantry. "Shit," he groaned. "Dad didn't go to the goddamn store, so all we got's instant noodles. And only teriyaki flavor."

    "That's fine," Crona replied, as Ragnarok got out two packages of the microwaveable cup variety. He added water and stuck them in the microwave, setting it for the required time. Crona set their overnight bag down by their feet.

    "So how's the sex?" he asked, as the noodles started cooking.

    "What?" Crona asked with shock, getting two bottled waters out of the refrigerator. "Oh, um, we haven't done that yet," they said.

    "Just set those on the counter, we'll eat in here," Ragnarok said. "So you two've been together for almost a month, and you still haven't fucked?" he asked.

    "We're just freshmen," Crona replied. "I can't speak for her, but I know I'm not ready for that stuff yet."

    "Sure, whatever," Ragnarok said dismissively. "I bet you just don't know how two people with pussies even do it," he teased. _Why do you even want to know if your fifteen-year-old cousin is even sexually active? Disgusting pervert._

    "I'm just not ready yet," Crona said. "We weren't even going to make our relationship official until after this whole business with Lady Medusa boils over."

    "And yet I caught you two kissing," Ragnarok added, glancing up at the microwave to see how much time the noodles had left. "In the school hallway, no less. If you're not going to tell anyone you're officially together, why swap spit in the school hallways where someone could just go around the corner and be like 'oh, Albarn and Gorgon are making out' or some shit like that?"

    There was a pause, and the microwave went off. Ragnarok put both flavor packets in his own noodles and handed Crona a cup of plain noodles and a fork. _I probably shouldn't tell him I thought for a second that I could die over here_.

    "I thought we were going to be alone for just a bit longer," Crona said, blowing on their first forkful of noodles to cool it down. "Besides, you were the only one who saw us," they added, taking the first bite. The only thing that registered with that bite of noodles was that it was hot. No flavor, or maybe just barely any. Just the sad, vaguely salty nothingness of plain instant noodles. At least it went down quickly, and Crona was able to finish the entire cup in just a few minutes. They disposed of the empty cup, and picked up their overnight bag.

    "Where do I set this?" they asked.

    "I haven't got the room ready," Ragnarok replied while sloppily eating the last bite of his noodles. He chucked his empty cup over to the trashcan, and it missed, hitting the floor with a slight splatter of teriyaki. "Just go do whatever while I set shit up. We're not going to to the stuff for my plan until late at night, and it'll just require a phone," he added. _I guess that means his entire plan must've been "call child services in the dead of night_. _And it took him four years to come up with that. Why is my presence even necessary for this?_

    "I guess I'll take a bath or something," Crona said. "Where's your bathroom?"

    "Down the hall, second door on the left," Ragnarok replied, waving off the direction as he walked over to pick up his fallen noodle cup. Crona went off down the hall to the second door on the left, which led to a small bathroom with ugly maroon wallpaper. The wallpaper had a brownish-yellow paisley pattern, broken only by a huge waist-length mirror taking up the entire wall where the sink and toilet were sitting in front of. _It's completely unavoidable for me to see my reflection in here, no matter what I do,_ Crona thought, glancing over at the shower curtain, which was pure white, matching the towels. Crona began to draw themself a bath, sitting on the floor by their overnight bag as it ran. They got out a pair of black leggings, a dark purple tank top, a pair of black undershorts, and a periwinkle sweater, and set them all out on the counter. With the water filling up surprisingly fast, they unbuttoned their blazer and set it down atop their bag, doing the same with their shirt and the locket Maka gave them at New Year's. An accidental glance in the mirror reflected back a body that was so thin and pale, it seemed like it only consisted of skin and bones. A collarbone that stuck out so much it looked like it could burst out of their skin, rib bones that could nearly be counted to the exact number, and limbs that barely looked human. Crona quickly looked away, not bearing to see what they looked like for any longer.

    "Why did I even look?" they asked themself, looking back at the water as the last of the bath ran. "I barely even look alive," they said. "I wonder if I'll just end up indirectly starving to death at this rate? I really do need help, regardless of whether I deserve it at this point."

 

    Crona walked out of the bathroom a little less than fifteen minutes later, drying the last of their hair off with a towel. Unlike the one at "home", the bathtub was small and cramped to the point where Crona had to curl up a bit to fit all of their legs in. It was near-impossible for them to have comfortably relaxed in there, and the water being too hot did not help at all. Their overnight bag was now stuffed with their school uniform, and they had put on the clothes they set out earlier as well as the locket. They glanced down at the towel, seeing a slight pink twinge to the color. They opened the door and looked at their hair, which lost only a very small amount of its vibrancy. Crona sighed with relief. _I hope it'll stay intact at least until we're back from State, because I did not bring any spare dye,_ they thought.

    "Oh, you're done," Ragnarok said, walking by the open doorway. He glanced down at Crona's legs, and the bright shade they had turned. "You didn't use all the hot water, did you?" he asked, his tone becoming angrier as he entered the bathroom. "Do you have any idea how long it'll take to heat back up?"

    "Not long, right?" Crona asked, turning around. Ragnarok pulled Crona into a headlock and started pulling their hair. Crona winced from the pain, and tried to escape.

    "Our water heater's old and shitty!" Ragnarok exclaimed. "It's going to take two hours or something," he added, tossing Crona aside. They tripped over their overnight bag and hit the wall, facefirst. Ragnarok did not hold back laughter at this, as he turned the water back on. Crona immediately wiped their nose with their hand, checking for blood. _At least I'm not bleeding, and it doesn't hurt enough for me to have broken my nose,_ they thought, brushing their tongue against the backs of their teeth to check if any were knocked out. _They're all still in,_ Crona thought, getting up to look in the mirror. Unlike what they first thought, they did not bust their lip.

    "You did use it all," Ragnarok snapped. "If the water's not hot by the time I take my shower, I'm putting thumbtacks in your shoes!" he threatened.

    "I understand," Crona replied. _I must be an awful guest for using all the hot water. At least I'm not going to end up with more than a bruise if I'm lucky._

    "Come on, you gotta dump your worthless stuff in a room, right?" Ragnarok asked. "Dad said you had to use my room and I should sleep on the couch, so yeah, here it is."

    "Okay," Crona replied, following Ragnarok across the hall to a medium-sized bedroom. The bed was hastily made, and a few magazines peeked out from underneath, where they looked to be hastily shoved. Dirty clothes, including a football uniform, were still strewn about the floor. There were five posters of scantily-clad women on the otherwise plain white walls, some in bikinis, some in lingerie. The largest poster featured a brunette woman on a beach from the mid-thighs above, with long hair and a skimpy red string bikini. She was giving an empty "come hither" look, complementing her provocative pose.

    "You like that poster?" Ragnarok asked, noticing how Crona looked at it for more than half a second. "I debated whether or not to take down the posters, but eh, you're into chicks too, so I figured I'd just keep em' all up. This one's especially hot. Would you tap that if she was here right now? I definitely would."

    "I don't even know her," Crona said, seeming disgusted at how Ragnarok was so casually talking about the woman in the poster, almost like she wasn't even a person, just an object to lust after.

    "So? You don't have to know her to know she's hot," Ragnarok replied, raising his voice.

    "But... wanting to do something so intimate with a complete stranger, based on just a poster..." Crona started.

    "There's something called casual sex, have you ever heard of it?" Ragnarok asked. "Prude."

    "I've heard of it, it's just not something I really see myself doing," Crona replied.

    "That's your problem, then," Ragnarok said. "What kind of weirdo freak doesn't look at hot people and immediately just think 'damn, I definitely want some of that right now'? I mean, that's the normal response, right?" he asked, looking over at the poster again. "Well, I'm going to go play Call of Duty," he said, leaving the room. _I must be a weirdo freak like he said,_ Crona thought, setting their bag down. They unzipped the bag and got out their homework, figuring they could use it to pass the time. _What's wrong with wanting to bond with a person emotionally before delving too deep physically?_ they thought, starting an English worksheet.

 

    Crona worked on their homework and Ragnarok played his game for the next two hours, until Ragnarok decided to quit playing and head back to his room.

    "Get out, I gotta change clothes!" he snapped, picking up Crona and tossing them down into the hallway. He slammed the door. _What's this about?_ Crona thought, getting up from their sprawled position. They squeezed onto their shoulder to check and see if it was dislocated. _Good, it isn't. It would be horrible if I was hurt just before we had to compete. I'm not too fond of being at show choir, but I don't want to let the team down. I don't want to let my friends down. I don't want to let Maka down. I can't let them all down at this point._ Crona did a quick face check even though it didn't even touch the ground, before Ragnarok opened the door, wearing his State costume. Crona avoided looking at his legs, since just the thought of seeing him in that full costume made them nauseous.

    "I'm thinking I should just wear black dress pants instead of these shorts, I mean, they make me look stupid, don't they?" he asked. "Wait, did you just gag?"

    "Sorry, it's just..." Crona began. "You should, really."

    "Finally, something sensible came out of your mouth tonight," Ragnarok replied. "I wish yours had longer pants, too. I can't stand to look at your skinny chicken legs, and I'm sure everyone else can't, either."

    "I know," Crona said, curling up and seeing the way their leggings looked against their legs. _He's right_ , they thought, as Ragnarok went back in his room. _How can people even stand to look at me?_ Crona sat curled up until Ragnarok walked out of his room again, this time wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants, much like the ones his father wore at the beginning of the evening.

    "The water _should_ be hot by now," he said. Crona got up and went back in Ragnarok's room to keep doing their homework. _I should go to bed early tonight,_ they thought, looking at a digital clock that read 9:45 PM. _But I guess I should ask about the plan first once he's out of the shower. I know those are just posters on the walls, but it feels like they're staring at me. Maybe there's something I could use to cover them up,_ Crona thought, continuing on their homework.

 

   They finished up the last page of the last worksheet just as the shower water turned off. A few more minutes passed, and Ragnarok came back in.

    "So you wanna stay up tonight, or should I just get you when it's time?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Just get me," Crona replied, glancing back at the clock, which just changed to 10:00 PM. "It's getting late already and I'd like to sleep some tonight."

    "Ten isn't late, it's early," Ragnarok groaned, walking off without closing the door. Crona closed the door and walked back to the middle of the room. They put their homework back in their bag, and looked over at the wadded lump of sheets. Sighing to themself, they remade the sheets so at least they'd not be in a ball. They took off their sweater and leggings, not wanting to get too hot. Crona walked over to turn off the light and got in bed. They pulled the covers up over their shoulders, and to their chin. _Ugh, they smell awful,_ Crona thought, pushing the covers back down away from their face. The sensation of being in an unfamiliar house, and trying to sleep in an unfamiliar bed, started to drain them. It was not helping at all that the large poster of the bikini-clad woman's stare no longer looked just vaguely sexual yet almost dead in the eyes, but now, in the dark, the stare looked almost menacing. Crona turned away, trying to ignore it. They looked to see if there was a second pillow somewhere, but there was only the one they were using for their head.

    "I'm still uncomfortable," they muttered to themself. "And it feels much too hot in here. Not like he'd appreciate me saying anything about changing the thermostat," they said. It didn't feel right, but they had to bear it for just this one night. Trying not to think about the poster, or their clothes, Crona still couldn't sleep. There was still this thought, deep in the back of their mind, that Medusa knew everything about this. She could know every last reason as to why Crona was here. Because who would willingly go to the house of someone who hurts them, and stay the entire night? _Try not to think about her, try not to think about her._ Crona lay awake for several long minutes, not wanting to look at the clock, or the posters, or anything. No matter how hard they closed their eyes, nothing. How hard can it be to fall asleep? Nerves for the upcoming state final were dulled by nerves from the thought of how Medusa was going to be dealt with. Their heart was still racing like it had been ever since they kissed Maka a little over five hours ago. All this worrying couldn't be healthy, but then again, when was Crona ever the picture of health? It took them nearly half an hour of their mind racing through every last anxiety of the night, before they finally worried themself to sleep.

 

    "Get up!" a harsh voice called out. Crona could feel themself being shaken, and not at all gently. They got up to see the familiar face of Ragnarok, as he still kept shaking them.

    "I'm awake! I'm awake!" Crona exclaimed back. "What time is it?" they asked, looking at the clock. The red digital numbers read out 4:20 AM.

    "Late enough that I'm sure she'll be asleep," Ragnarok replied. "Come on," he added, yanking them out of bed. He dragged Crona outside by the arm, and went back in to get the motorcycle helmet. Crona stood out on the front porch, before becoming fully awake and realizing what was going on. The cold January air blew against the exposed parts of their skin. The desert was not a forgiving place on a winter's night, in the opposite way from a hot summer's afternoon. Ragnarok walked back out and handed Crona the helmet.

    "Put this on now!" he shouted. "We have to get moving."

    "Can't I put on some extra clothes first?" Crona asked, beginning to shiver.

    "No time, get on the bike!" Ragnarok shouted back. Crona took a step towards the door, but before they could get back inside to put their sweater on, Ragnarok grabbed them by the armpits and carried them off to his motorcycle. "For fuck's sake, Crona," he groaned, "just hang on."

    "Wait, but I-" Crona started, as Ragnarok started the motorcycle and Crona hand no choice but to hang on for dear life as the helmet clattered onto the driveway. The motorcycle sped out of the neighborhood down more distant streets, going deeper and deeper into unfamiliar territory. They passed three gas stations, a pizza place, a shopping center, a red light Ragnarok ignored, and a small expanse of residential area, before pulling up at a retirement complex. Crona could barely make out the letters on the sign due to low light, but it looked like it said "Last Years Until Death", in a way that was just as macabre as the rest of the city. A single flickering streetlamp illuminated a lone payphone.

    "See that payphone there?" Ragnarok asked. "Only one left in the entire town, and it's slated for demolition tomorrow. If you use it to call child services, Medusa ain't gonna be able to trace it back to us by the time she finds out," he added, getting off the motorcycle. Crona dismounted it as well, shivering from the wind. They could feel their teeth chattering.

    "So your plan really was just to call child services?" Crona asked in return. "Just... really, really elaborately?" Crona took a deep breath through their nose, feeling just the slightest bit annoyed.

    "Here's the number and some quarters, just go," Ragnarok replied, handing Crona a slip of paper and about a dollar's worth of quarters before pushing them towards the payphone. They took a few steps, the bleak, dusty ground dirtying up their bare feet. Feelings of dread and panic began to flood through Crona. _No, this can't be happening before I even get to the phone_ , they thought, fearing they were going to go in another attack. They tried not to think about the magnitude of what they were about to do, or the cold, or their lack of adequate clothing, or the fact that they were pretty much alone, save for Ragnarok standing twenty feet away. But he was often a very hostile person, so Crona didn't think he was going to offer much support. The payphone was fully enclosed in glass, befitting the old-fashioned, European-styled Nevadan city, and the

door even had a lock on it, which locked from the inside, as Crona found out upon entry. With a click, they locked the payphone's door. Crona put in two quarters, and picked up the receiver. Beeping. Not normal ringing at all, as they had not dialed the number yet, but beeping. Fast, constant, irritating beeping. Already at a heightened emotional state, Crona's panic became more intense.

    "No, no, no no, no..." they repeated, dialing the number. The beeping continued for a few seconds until an automated voice began speaking.

    "We're sorry, the telephone you are using is no longer connected to any service," the monotone, robotic woman's voice said. There was silence, until the beeping continued. Crona sunk down into a seated position, still holding the beeping receiver. _It's... disconnected, they thought. And I don't have my cell on me, so I can't use that. It's over. All this was for nothing. This horrible, horrible night..._

    Crona screamed in a blend of fear and frustration. The glass wasn't soundproof, but they were muffled enough to not wake the elderly people in the nearby retirement complex. Ragnarok ran over to the payphone.

    "Don't tell me the city already disconnected it," he said. Crona unlocked the door, not caring if they were crying at this point.

    "It is, they... they must've done it at the end of business hours or something," Crona replied, their voice becoming shakier and shakier. They could feel their heart racing, the awful feelings in the pit of their stomach growing to the point where it began to feel painful, their body shaking in fear. _It's happening, isn't it?_

    "Well, shit," Ragnarok nonchalantly said.

    "Why... why are you being so... so dismissive about this?" Crona asked, sniffling a bit, as hot tears streamed down their face. They were not just feeling fear and panic, but anger had begun to surface as well.

    "Look, it's not my mom who-"

    "You dragged me out here in the middle of January," Crona began, raising their voice to interrupt Ragnarok for the first time since they were kids, "to a payphone out by a retirement home out in the middle of nowhere, well past four in the morning, in my underwear..."

    "Hold up, that ain't just your pajamas?" Ragnarok asked.

    "That's not the point," Crona replied, regretting that they brought that up.

    "A tank top like that and those type of shorts are what chicks wear as pajamas all the time in comic books and movies," Ragnarok went on, "I just figure that can extend to certain nonbinary people as well." he added. "Right?"

    "Still not the point," Crona said, "you dragged me all the way out here for a 'chance' that didn't even end up working?" they asked. "You had time to find out whether the payphone was disconnected, right?"

    "Shut up," Ragnarok replied. Crona heard a buzz coming from Ragnarok's jacket pocket. _His cell phone_ , they thought, as Ragnarok checked to see what the buzz meant. "Could I see your phone for a second?"

    "What? No," Ragnarok replied. "I need this because my dad's still out, and I don't want to miss his one phone call incase he gets put in the slammer! He's out selling drugs just so I can make my damn tuition for this stupid rich kid's school we go to. Stop being such a selfish bitch!" he shouted. The insult stung like a wasp, before the realization sunk in. _His father does what?_ _No time to think about that now..._

    "I'm sorry if I sound selfish," Crona sighed. "but I'd like to be able to call them tonight," they added, their tone going back to its earlier forcefulness. Ragnarok gave them a humoring look, right before Crona tried the risky move of trying to snatch his phone right from his hand. And it worked. "I'm sorry!" they exclaimed, running back into the payphone booth, locking the door shut, and dialing the number for Death City's child services. "I can't believe I just did that," Crona said as the ringing began. Ragnarok was still trying to process what exactly just happened, as the phone picked up.

    "Death City Child Services, this is Mifune," a gruff man's voice said on the other end. _Mifune. This is the guy Black_ _☆_ _Star said would be the most reliable._

    "You have to help me," Crona said. "My mother, she... she's been purposely starving me," they explained. _This is it. I'm going to end up dead as soon as she finds out. I didn't even have a good life._

    "What?" Mifune asked. "May I ask who you and your mother are and where in Death City you're calling from?"

    "I... my mother's name is Medusa Gorgon," Crona said, their heart racing evermore as their voice became less coherent and shakier, "and I'm her child, Crona."

    "Crona, is there anything else about your situation that you feel safe enough to disclose?" Mifune asked. _No, but I have to say it._

    "She's been trying to convince me that nobody but her genuinely loves me, she watches me like a hawk to the point where I don't feel safe, and she hit me once about a month ago, giving me a busted lip," Crona replied. "And the starvation's been her preferred method of punishment, even for minor things other parents would just give a lecture for. And she's been isolating me from everyone all my life up until this year, so I thought it all was normal," they added, breaking down into tears. They went on until the rest of their words became a muddled mess, to the point where they just resigned to crying alone, inside an out-of-service payphone, with a cell phone which was not their own.

    "It's gonna be okay," Mifune said on the other end. "I'll get on this as soon as possible, there's already been a few calls about your mother, so I have no doubt I'll be able to convince my supervisors for an investigation. We'll be able to take her down in no time, okay?" _Already been a few calls… People actually cared._

    "Okay," Crona stuttered in reply. _Please hurry, I don't think I can deal with this any longer._ "Thank you," they added, before hanging up. They glanced out through the glass door at a very angry Ragnarok.

    "Are you done stealing my phone?" he asked, right as Crona unlocked and opened the door. Crona nodded, handing the phone back.

    "I did it," they said. "I... I c-called them," they added. The resolve to even keep standing up was fading, but if they fell, they'd probably just end up landing flat in the dirt. "I did it, but I still have to face the consequences. Every word I spoke was true, but I incriminated my own mother. We've already had a run-in before, but this time, this time will be worse. Because I'm the true catalyst. If it weren't for me, her cover might still be up, and nobody would think anything wrong was going on. I've simultaneously saved and damned myself," Crona said.

    "At least I didn't get any missed calls from the police department," Ragnarok muttered to himself. "And Crona, good for you," he said, sounding as unsarcastic as he possibly could. "It takes a lot of guts for someone as big of a crybaby as you to do this kind of shit, wait, are you okay?" he asked, looking at Crona's face. Illuminated by the lone streetlamp, they were all blotchy with tears, and wiping the snot off their nose before it got in their mouth. _Now I really want to disappear,_ Crona thought, as the initial adrenaline rush from earlier began to fade. But they couldn't calm down. Ragnarok reached out, doing nothing to quell Crona's alarm. _He's going to hurt me, isn't he?_ Crona thought, taking a few steps back. Much to their surprise, he had no intent to harm them this time, instead just pulling them into a loose hug.

    "Stop freaking out, I'm trying to fucking comfort you!" Ragnarok yelled. "The scary part's supposed to be over, goddamn it," he added.

    "It doesn't feel like it's over yet," Crona sniffled.


	18. Chapter 18

    Maka awoke to the sound of a particularly loud horn. _Oh God,_ she thought, looking at her alarm clock, which didn't go off. It was not at all the time she thought it was going to be, and seeing those digital numbers threw Maka into a panic. _They're here much earlier than planned_. _That never happens, and on the day we all have to go to state finals, too..._

    "Maka, your father's here with the bus!" her mother shouted from the living room. Maka got up out of bed, slipped on a pair of flats, and picked up her bag, which she had packed the night before incase this exact situation happened. She passed by the kitchen and took two doughnuts out of the box before running to the door to see Spirit.

    "You ready to go?" he asked.

    "Mhm," Maka replied, taking a bite from one of the donuts. _It's a jelly donut,_ she thought, as the sweet strawberry filling oozed into her mouth.

    "Don't worry, I'll have her back on Monday, just think of this like any other weekend," Spirit said to Maka's mother, as she refused to make eye contact with him.

    "Good luck," she said to Maka. Maka smiled, and hugged her mother goodbye, before walking back to the bus with her father, where Miss Mjolnir had weaved around the front.

    "Ms. Gorgon says Crona's not home," Miss Mjolnir said. "They're apparently staying at Ragnarok's," she added, as Maka boarded the bus. It was relatively small, with each bit of seating having room for two or three, and just enough rows to accommodate Spartoi, as well as Spirit and Miss Mjolnir. Dr. Stein was sitting at the driver's seat, looking bored out of his mind. Maka walked over to the back, which was long enough for five. And Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki were already taking up three of the spaces. There was an empty bench in front of them, but Maka paid no mind to it, and sat next to Soul as the rest of Spartoi was abuzz with idle chatter.

    "Woah, did you just wake up?" Black☆Star asked, taking note of Maka's appearance. Her hair was down and still unbrushed, and though she was wearing a long-sleeved tee as her top, it was plain to see she was wearing pajama pants. She sat down and took another bite of the jelly donut. The other one was covered in powdered sugar, and consequently, so was her shirt sleeve and bag.

    "Yeah," Maka said. "I guess I just crashed after such a week," she added. "What's in that?" she asked, looking over at Tsubaki's bag, which was huge and filled to the brim.

    "My costume, some pajamas, other emergency outfits for both myself and Black☆Star," Tsubaki began listing, "hair chalk in pink and blue for if Kim, Black☆Star, or Crona needed a quick touchup, a fully stocked makeup kit, plenty of snacks, a few water bottles, a generously sized first aid kit, a list of everyone's emergency contacts, a spare blanket, air sickness bags for incase anyone was carsick, pads and tampons for if someone's period hits, my laptop, my headphones, and a few hand-knit winter hats, scarves, and gloves incase anyone gets cold."

    "Is there a kitchen sink in there too?" Soul joked.

    "Honestly, Soul," Tsubaki sighed, as Spirit and Miss Mjolnir got back on the bus, sitting across from the driver's seat. Spirit told Dr. Stein Ragnarok's address, and he put it in the GPS, before driving off to their last stop.

    "Vegas or bust!" Patty shouted. Several other members, including Maka, enthusiastically cheered. The bus went on through the city roads, leaving the wealthier side of town down through the more middle-class areas. Dr. Stein pulled the bus over to a one-story house with a motorcycle carelessly parked in its driveway. There was a motorcycle helmet and a roof shingle in the front yard, and a beat-up old sedan parked right behind the motorcycle. Spirit enthusiastically went up to the wheel and honked the horn.

    "Must you do that every time?" Dr. Stein asked, as a middle-aged man walked out of the building, followed by Ragnarok and Crona. The middle-aged man put a hand on Ragnarok's shoulder, and appeared to give him some words of encouragement, before Ragnarok walked off toward the bus, giving the man a quick wave. Neither of them really paid much attention to Crona, who just walked straight to the bus and waited for the door to open. Dr. Stein pushed the button, and the final two members boarded, walking towards the only empty seats.

    "A whole bench to myself?" Ragnarok asked, making a beeline to the one empty bench, before sitting down by the window and laying his legs across the rest of the seat. Crona just walked to the back, taking the one seat left, right next to Maka. Maka gave them a quick smile in greeting as they sat down.

    "All right, who's ready to go to Vegas?" Spirit enthusiastically asked. A majority of Spartoi cheered, and the few who didn't still gave as enthusiastic of a look as they could muster.

    "We're gonna win State for sure, who's with me?" Black☆Star boasted. Several people cheered in agreement, as Dr. Stein closed the bus door and began to drive out of the neighborhood.

    "Should we go over any rules of conduct for at the hotel?" Miss Mjolnir asked.

    "Marie, we don't need to do that just yet," Spirit replied. "For now, let's enjoy the drive," he added. Maka turned to look at Crona, who was the only one in their row who didn't verbally cheer. They were staring at their feet, one hand on their knees, the other one facing palm-up out towards Maka. Maka laid her hand on top of theirs, and gave their fingers a quick squeeze.

    "Are you excited?" she asked. Crona glanced up at her, a worried look on their face.

    "I..." Crona started, "yeah," they said.

    "How was last night?" Maka asked.

    "Where do I even start?" Crona asked in return, before they began explaining everything significant that happened. They left out the reason as to why Ragnarok would not let them have his phone at first, or what they were (not) wearing at the time, and to spare Ragnarok's dignity, they did not even mention when he tried on the shorts. "And then I did it," Crona said. "I called them." Maka's expression lit up.

    "Really?" she asked, her voice taking a small squeak of enthusiasm.

    "Yeah," Crona replied. "The man on the other end, Mifune, he said there were already other calls about her..."

    "Oh, that's probably me," Black☆Star interrupted.

    "And me," Maka added.

    "I called too," Soul said. Maka looked up to see the rest of Spartoi staring at the back corner of the bus, utterly flabbergasted.

    "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?" Kilik asked, sounding horrified and concerned.

    "Some of us thought you had an eating disorder or something!" Hiro exclaimed. "And why didn't you call, Ragnarok?"

    "Eh, I was there when Crona did it," Ragnarok said. "And it was on my phone, so..." he added, not finishing the sentence after that.

    "They're probably going to do another investigation," Crona told Maka. "I think I'll still speak this time, even if Lady Medusa tells me not to," they said.

    "You can do it," Maka said, feeling some encouragement was definitely in order.

    "Yeah, we all believe in you!" Black☆Star added.

    "Thank you," Crona replied, looking over at the others in their row, and forcing a smile. _That's not a natural one,_ Maka thought. _Red flag._ "But the easy part's over," they thought out loud. "Lady Medusa will just use the same tactics as she used last time, and she might fool the CPS workers again, and if I call again after that, they won't even bother..."

    "Don't start this shit again!" Ragnarok yelled. "What, are you trying to give yourself another goddamn panic attack? We went over this at four in the morning, dumbass! Don't you remember?"

    "I remember," Crona replied, holding tightly onto Maka's hand. They took a deep breath. _Oh, no,_ Maka thought, noticing that Crona was trying and straining not to panic too much.

    "At least you won't be seeing her all weekend," Maka said, trying to reassure them. "And if the reports are kept anonymous, there's a possibility she might not even know yours was in the mix."

    "The only way multiple calls would've been made was if I told people!" Crona cried out. "Otherwise, there'd be no way anyone suspected anything," they added, their voice becoming very shaky.

    "It's all your closest friends, though," Tsubaki interjected. "They're people you obviously trusted to tell this information to. Trust me, it's not gonna sound too suspicious to her. And CPS responds promptly to any allegations, so you won't have to wait too long for a result."

    "Okay," Crona replied, appearing to calm down, despite not sounding like they believed Tsubaki. Maka could still sense something was up. She put her free arm around Crona, holding them close.

    "If you wanna talk once we get to the hotel or something, I'll be there," Maka said, as Miss Mjolnir walked down to Ragnarok's bench, and told him to move his feet over so she could sit down. The bus ride became tense, and there was no sound save for the bus going down the highway, and the hum of its engine. Maka stayed by Crona for as long as she could. If nothing else, she wanted to at least be there for them.

    "I think I'm gonna be all right," Crona whispered to Maka, breaking off the half-hug. They curled up into a ball, their long legs barely fitting on the edge of the seat. They rested their chin atop their knees, expression still panicked and shaken, like they were doubting the words that just came out of their mouth. Maka almost didn't notice Miss Mjolnir looking over at the two.

    "I don't even have to see her for a few days," Crona said to themself, burying their face behind their knees. Maka almost lifted her hand to their shoulder, but she hesitated. To the relief of most of Spartoi, things seemed to be calming down, and normal chatter slowly began to resume everywhere except the back row, where it still remained quiet. Soul began checking his phone, and Black☆Star started texting Kidd single emojis incessantly. Tsubaki looked out the window at the barren desert outside.

    "What's going to happen once we get back?" Crona asked with copious amounts of fear.

    "I don't know," Maka replied. "But as long as you're here, you'll be okay for the time being," she added. Crona shook their head rapidly, a reaction that prompted Miss Mjolnir to dash to the back row. "Were you looking at us the whole time?" Maka asked.

    "Yeah," Miss Mjolnir replied. "Crona, are you okay?" she asked.

    "I don't know," Crona replied, staying curled up.

    "If the investigation warrants a trial, it could take several months or even over a year for everything to be fully resolved," Miss Mjolnir said. "It's gonna be really hard, but you can get through it. We'll all be here to support you, so if you need anything, always, always make sure to let us know."

    "I will," Crona replied. Miss Mjolnir sat down in front of the back bench, staying between Crona and Maka, the latter shifting her legs a bit so she would have enough room to sit. She remained there for the rest of the ride, until the bus crossed into the Las Vegas city limits. Excitement fully returned to Spartoi upon seeing all the city's signs and lights. At this point, it was getting close to lunchtime, so Dr. Stein pulled into the nearest restaurant, a generic fast-food burger joint. The chaos of getting fifteen private school kids, most not having eaten fast food before, to get their orders and everything soon became apparent, but they all were reined in eventually.

 

    Once everyone finished up with their meals, they all got back on the bus and arrived at the hotel after thirty minutes. It was a tall, lavish building, themed to look like a theater with the height of a small skyscraper. Spirit handled the check-in process, as Kim, Miss Mjolnir, Kidd, and Dr. Stein were checking to see if everyone was together in the lobby. There was another large group of teenagers, likely another school's team, being led off by a tour guide. Maka assumed that Spartoi was going to end up getting a tour as well, as Black☆Star grabbed her arm and pointed out a fountain with a nude statue. Maka make a snide remark about Black☆Star's immaturity, before Spirit returned to the group.

    "Okay, we got two rooms, one for guys, and one for the girls and Crona, and we'll be getting a tour of the place in just a bit," Spirit said. "Oh, and since we arrived a day before the competition, we're going to get a free steak dinner in the hotel's restaurant..."

    "Hell yeah!" Black☆Star shouted.

    "I saw you eat three third-pound burgers, how much more meat are you even able to consume?" Harvar asked him.

    "I placed second in a hot dog eating contest last year," Black☆Star replied. "And I was still hungry after that, the time had just run out," he added, as a bellhop came in to take Spartoi's luggage. "I could eat three of their biggest steaks and still have room for dessert."

    "Black☆Star, you shouldn't eat too much, we have a competition tomorrow," Tsubaki said, as everyone's luggage was carted off.

    "Oh, I know it's a bit late to remind you guys about this, but the steak dinner's semi-formal, so did everyone remember to pack outfits for that?" Spirit asked. The looks on Crona and Ragnarok's faces were enough to let him know that no, the two of them didn't.

    "Someone gimme some cash or I'll gouge out their eyes!" Ragnarok shouted, pointing at Crona with a plastic spoon from the fast food joint and alarming employees.

    "No you will not!" Miss Mjolnir snapped back, handing Ragnarok a few bills. _She took him seriously_ , Maka thought, as Crona sighed with relief. Ragnarok put the spoon back into his pocket as a tour guide came in to give Spartoi a tour of the hotel's amenities. The tour lasted well over three hours, and it was only interesting for the first four and a half minutes. Maka tried to make an attempt to sneak off with Crona, but Spirit overheard and she instead had to play it off like it was nothing. In the end, everyone had to suffer through the tour except Kidd, who seemed to enjoy it.

 

    The tour ended at Spartoi's hotel rooms, Room 304 for the boys and Room 305 for the girls and Crona. Miss Mjolnir took the keycard for Room 305 from Spirit, and she opened the door.

    "Hey, Mr. Albarn, if we gotta split up, can I bunk with Kilik?" Black☆Star asked, as Miss Mjolnir led the girls and Crona into Room 305.

    "I'm going to check and see how many beds we have," Kim said, not even stopping to pick up her luggage. The other girls and Crona searched the pile for their bags.

    "I have an extra dress you could wear to dinner if you want," Tsubaki said to Crona. "It's more conservatively cut so you don't have to worry about taking off your binder or showing too much skin," she added.

    "Thanks," Crona replied, giving Tsubaki a slight smile. Tsubaki's eyes lit up, as she unzipped her bag, holding up a simple, flowy purple dress that would complement well with Crona's hair color. _Wow, she really did pack everything in there,_ Maka thought, kicking her flats off as Kim ran back in.

    "Two beds each in the second and third bedrooms, and the master bedroom's got a king size one," Kim said. "So that's five beds for eight people, including Miss Mjolnir."

    "I'll take the couch, and after dinner, we'll decide who will get what beds," Miss Mjolnir replied. "As for now, you guys can just do whatever, just meet back here at 5:30 to prep for dinner," she added. Liz immediately turned on the TV and began flipping channels. Patty and Tsubaki sat down with her.

    "I've got a book I wanted to read, so I'll be in the master bedroom until we have to go," Maka said, walking off to the master bedroom with a story she had checked out from the school library. She sat down on the bed, and opened the book to where her bookmark indicated. After an hour and a half of Maka's enthusiastic reading, Crona cracked open the door.

    "Oh, you're still reading," they said, stepping back. Maka detected a slight hint of disappointment in their tone.

    "Wait, don't go," Maka said. Crona opened the door a bit more and walked in. "What is it?" Maka asked. _And we're alone together,_ Maka thought, her heart palpitating as Crona closed the door behind them.

    "I just wanted to be somewhere quiet for a bit," Crona replied, sitting on top of the bed next to where Maka was lying down. "Today's been so overwhelming," they added, lying down next to Maka and taking out a few brochures from inside their sweater. _Did they stick those in their binder?_

    "I understand," Maka said, as Crona began reading the brochures. Most of them were for cheap gimmicky tourist stuff, but one was about homes in the city. And that was the one they were reading. Crona sighed, and put the brochure to the side, before getting up to look at the master bathroom. Maka returned to her book, and quickly became reabsorbed reading about the adventurous exploits of its characters in a world where humans can transform into weapons. _If I could live in any fantasy world, this would be it,_ Maka thought, as Crona returned to the room, lying back down next to Maka, and holding out their hand towards hers.

    "I love you," they said, looking up at Maka with wide, innocent eyes.

    "Love you too," Maka replied, surprised by this sudden display of affection. She took their left hand and held it tight. A side of her book slipped, almost closing if it weren't for the fingers on her other hand keeping it from losing its place. _I have plenty of time before the competition tomorrow to finish this,_ Maka thought, setting the open book on her thigh and slipping in the bookmark before setting the book on the nightstand, all with only one hand. Maka moved from her seated position so she was lying down next to Crona, their eyes in line with hers. Maka shifted her hand so her fingers were intertwined with theirs. She moved in a bit closer so that their faces were mere inches apart, laying her other hand on their shoulder. _I definitely could stay like this for a while_ , Maka thought, as Crona rested their right hand alongside their left, leaning their head in a bit so their and Maka's foreheads were touching. _The book got to a boring part anyway._

    It was a wonderful feeling, to be so close with the person she loves, atop such a warm and comfortable bed, not even needing to say a word, just being with them. She even thought for a second she could kiss them right then and there, but hesitated to lean in and bridge the last bit of the gap. Maka lost track of time how long she and Crona stayed like this, until the door opened again. The two immediately looked up.

    "Are you two still in here?" Tsubaki asked in her usual calm and gentle voice. She paused for a second, assessing the situation. "Was I interrupting something?" she innocently added.

    "Yes," Maka replied, knowing damn well that Tsubaki knew what was going on, but still trying not to sound annoyed.

    "Miss Mjolnir says we have to start getting ready for dinner," Tsubaki said, holding up the purple dress from earlier, and walking over to the bed to set it down. "Sorry, guys," she regrettably added.

    "Oh yeah, that," Maka replied, getting up. "My dress is still in my bag, so I should probably go get it," she added, speaking quicker and more nervously.

    "Should I have knocked?" Tsubaki asked as Maka made her way out of the room.

    "Woah, you're bright red!" Patty exclaimed as she was changing into her dress right in the middle of the hotel living room. And seeing that didn't help matters any further when it came to being red in the face. Maka quickly made her way to her bag and unzipped it, getting a short mulberry-colored dress with a light taffy-colored frill trim at the bottom of the skirt, as well as a hairbrush. Maka returned to the master bedroom to change right as Tsubaki exited the room. Crona was nowhere in sight, so Maka assumed they decided to change in the bathroom, and quickly changed into her dress. She began brushing out her sandy blonde hair, until she heard the click of the bathroom door reopening, and Crona stepped out, the skirt of their deep purple dress flowing beautifully with every movement.

    "You look great," they both said in unison, Maka's tone being more excited. "Just a heads up, there's probably still people changing right outside, so unless you don't wanna see that, we should probably still stay in here," she added.

    "I'm fine with that," Crona replied, sitting down on the bed. They adjusted their neckline, to make sure nothing peeked out of it. Maka sat down next to them, and looked up towards their face.

    "So, should we finish what we..." she began, before the door opened again. "Oh, come on," Maka groaned.

    "Can we borrow the mirror?" Jackie asked. "Liz and Tsubaki are making out in the other bathroom," she explained.

    "Go right ahead," Crona replied, as Jackie passed by, followed by Kim and Patty. The three of them began primping themselves in the mirror, as Miss Mjolnir began knocking on the other bathroom door and asking what the heck what was taking Tsubaki and Liz so long in there. Kim cracked up laughing.

    "Can you imagine what it would be like if two people were holding this place up just like that?" she asked in between fits of laughter. Maka and Crona looked at each other.

    "We should go get our shoes," Crona said, trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

    "Yeah," Maka replied. The two of them walked back out to the living room, hearing Patty say "hey, you don't think they were going to..." on the way out. Maka put her flats back on, and Crona put on their school uniform's shoes, which seemed to be the only shoes they had with them. Their dress was long enough that it would not matter much anyway. Miss Mjolnir walked back out to the living room, Tsubaki and Liz right behind her.

    "Maka, my lip gloss isn't too smudged, is it?" Tsubaki asked.

    "You're good," Maka replied, giving her a thumbs up. Kim, Jackie, and Patty soon came out to the living room, and with the entire group ready, Miss Mjolnir led this half of Spartoi out to the hall, where Spirit and Dr. Stein stood with the boys. There were a few quick exchanges between everyone about their attire and hopes for the steak dinner, then the group of eighteen made their way to the ground floor.

 

    A few hours later, Maka led the way back up the stairs to Spartoi's hotel rooms, and the two halves split off to their respective rooms.

    "I didn't think we'd be having dinner and a show," Liz said, immediately returning to the couch. "The murder mystery was still way too easy to solve."

    "Hang on a sec," Miss Mjolnir began, getting seven straws out from her bag. Why does she have those? Maka thought, as she marked three straws with a permanent marker. "Okay," Miss Mjolnir said, "we're gonna be drawing straws to determine which three people get to she the master bed." She held the seven straws in her right hand, marked side concealed in her fist. Immediately, Patty drew a straw, and Kim and Maka walked up to draw straws of their own. Maka searched for a mark on her straw, as the remaining four took theirs. _I got a marked one,_ Maka thought, scanning the group to see if anyone else had any immediate reaction with theirs.

    "Mine's marked," Tsubaki called out. "Who else got a marked one?" she asked. _Oh, Tsubaki's got one, that's pretty good,_ Maka thought. _I've had to share a bed with her at a sleepover before, and she's a calm sleeper._

    "I did!" Maka answered.

    "So did I," Crona added. _This is the best-case scenario,_ Maka thought, as Jackie asked Kim if she could share a room with her. Tsubaki picked up her gigantic and still-bulging bag.

    "Okay, you can all do whatever you want within reason until bed, including inviting some of the boys in as long as you keep it G-rated," Miss Mjolnir said. "Since we have a competition tomorrow, I don't want to see anyone up and about after 10:30, you all must be in your rooms by then."

    "Okay," Maka and the other girls replied. Crona just gave a nod, and picked up their bag. Maka, Tsubaki, and Crona walked into the master bedroom together to set their bags down.

    "I took a shower this morning, so whichever one of you two wants the bath first can have it," Tsubaki said, unzipping her bag. Maka sat back down on the bed and picked up her book from the nightstand.

    "I still really want to finish this book, so you can go on ahead," Maka said to Crona.

    "Oh, thanks," Crona replied, getting a dark purple tank top out from their bag and stepping into the master bathroom. _Did they forget pants?_ Maka thought, opening her book back to where she left it. Tsubaki got out her laptop and headphones and began typing stuff. _She must be working on a report_. Maka began to read for the next forty minutes, until the bathroom door creaked open and Crona stepped out, a towel draped around their shoulders. They were wearing the tank top they got out earlier, as well as a pair of what Maka assumed were short pajama shorts, and she could tell just by looking at their skin that they had turned the bathwater too hot. _I'll finish the last few chapters while the water heats back up._ Maka put her bookmark back in. Crona walked over to the bed and laid out across it, pulling the towel over their exposed collarbone in a tight clutch. It was clear that they weren't comfortable showing off all that skin, but had forgot to pack any other sleepwear options.

    "Are you okay?" Tsubaki asked, looking up from her laptop.

    "I'll be fine," Crona replied. "I just have to cool down a bit," they added. Tsubaki took off her headphones and closed her laptop, getting out pajamas from her bag before heading off into the bathroom to change.

    "I probably should ask Tsubaki if she has an extra pajama top," Crona said. "I probably look sick in this," they muttered, looking down at their bony fingers.

    "That might be a good idea, considering your strap's almost fell," Maka replied. Crona quickly pulled it back into place, before sitting back up next to Maka. "And you don't look that sick," she added. "Personally, I don't mind the tank top that much." The flustered look on Crona's face confirmed to Maka that she had definitely said that last part out loud. "Because of the color!" Maka quickly tried to explain herself with. "The color looks good."

    "Sure, Maka," Tsubaki said, opening the door. "I could hear everything you two were saying," she added, after seeing the looks on the two freshmen's faces. "Yes, I do have an extra pajama top, and you left your clothes on the counter," Tsubaki told Crona, setting their clothes on top of their bag.

    "I did mean that," Maka reiterated, blushing a bit before returning to her book. J _ust gotta finish these last few chapters while the water heats back up,_ she thought. She felt tense as she read, not just because the story had reached its climax, but that she was sure that Tsubaki and Crona didn't believe her. And they did have a slight reason not to. _Slight._ Maka finished up her book, setting it down before walking over to her bag and getting out her pajamas.

    "I'm going to take my bath now," Maka said, heading over to the bathroom. The bathroom was spacious, with a large bathtub and a glass shower. There was a long granite counter with a sink, a mirror across the entire length of it, and an extra bit of wall sticking out to hide the toilet. Maka turned the bathwater on, brushing out her hair again as it ran. She looked at the dimmer switch on the wall, and the scented candles by the bath. She pondered whether she should light them, but after searching to no avail, there were no matches. So Maka just made sure her pajamas and a towel were close by the tub, before taking off her dress and getting into the bath. As she bathed, Maka thought of what was going to happen for the days ahead, mainly state finals, and she tried to relax in the warm water. She was already wound up with worry over what Crona had been going through, and she felt she did not need to stress herself too much about the competition on top of that. Maka remained in the bath for a little over half an hour until the water began to get cold, at which point she drained the tub and dried herself off. Maka put on her pajamas, and tying her hair up in a towel, she walked back out to the bedroom. Tsubaki had went out to socialize, and Crona had put on her spare pajama top. They had picked up Maka's book and were already a few chapters in.

    "How's the book?" Maka asked.

    "It's pretty good so far," Crona replied. "Mind if I borrow it to pass the time?"

    "Go on ahead," Maka said, smiling. "Just make sure you use the bookmark and don't dog-ear the pages."

    "Maka!" Tsubaki called out from the living room. "Liz found a really cheesy action movie from the 80's, wanna watch it with us?"

    "Yeah, sure!" Maka called back. She ran out to the living room where all the other girls except for Jackie, as well as Soul, Kidd, Black☆Star, and Kilik, were sitting and watching the movie. Maka sat down near Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters, who clued her in as to what had been going on in the movie so far. Maka watched the movie with everyone until 10:30 hit, and Miss Mjolnir ordered for lights out and everyone to go back to their rooms. Maka and Tsubaki walked back in the master bedroom, where Crona was still reading on the bed.

    "Is the movie done?" Crona asked.

    "No, it's just curfew," Maka groaned, as Crona put the bookmark in and set the book on the nightstand. "But we don't have to go to bed just yet, Miss Mjolnir only said we had to be in our rooms with the lights out," Maka pointed out.

    "We have state finals tomorrow, so we shouldn't stay up too late," Tsubaki said. "I think it's best we go ahead and head to bed," she added. Maka pouted a bit, clearly wanting to stay up for a bit longer.

    "Wait, who's getting the bed?" Crona asked, getting up in assumption that they weren't going to.

    "It's big enough for the three of us to share," Tsubaki said. "The question is who gets the middle?" she asked, turning off the light.

    "I call middle!" Maka replied. If we're going to bed early, I _should at least get the spot where I definitely can't fall off from. And as an added bonus, I am also guaranteed to be next to Crona._ Maka swiftly jumped up to the middle of the bed, sitting atop the covers. "I don't care which one of you gets which side, just do whatever," she said. Tsubaki stood at the side of the bed on Maka's left, and began pulling down the covers. Maka moved a little so she could finish the job, after which point Tsubaki set the alarm clock and climbed in.

    "Come on," Maka said, looking at a hesitant Crona. "Sharing a bed isn't really that big of a deal."

    "I've never really done it with anyone before," Crona replied, climbing in on Maka's right. Tsubaki pulled the covers up over herself.

    "If you two make out or something, I will hear everything," Tsubaki said. "Keep that in mind," she added, smiling in a way that, though it looked innocent, seemed very unsettling due to the context. "Goodnight, you two," she added.

    "Don't worry, Tsubaki, we're just gonna sleep," Maka reassured her. Now if it was just the two of us, and she wasn't here, Maka thought, pulling the covers up to her shoulders and laying down in the awkward crack between the two pillows. _And this is the one drawback to being in the middle. Well, that and I'm twice as likely to get kicked._ Maka laid there on her back in the near-silent room. _I wonder if everyone else doesn't want to go to sleep right away?_ she thought, glancing over to Tsubaki, who had turned to her side, facing away from Maka. Maka then turned to look at Crona, who was still wide awake.

    "I'm gonna try my best for tomorrow," Crona whispered, giving a hopeful look.

    "You can do it," Maka whispered back, giving them a kiss on the forehead. Crona became a bit flustered at this, and Maka's face remained close to theirs until the two drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

    Maka awoke the following morning to the sound of an alarm clock beeping. She opened her eyes, taking a look at the hotel room's surroundings. To her left, Tsubaki was still out like a light, and sleeping on Maka's arm. _Great, just great,_ Maka thought, trying to pull her arm out from underneath Tsubaki to no avail. Luckily, this woke Tsubaki up, and she began to stir.

    "Good morning," she said, yawning. "Did you two sleep okay?" she asked. Before answering Tsubaki, Maka looked to her right, hearing an annoyed groan from Crona, who clearly did not seem to enjoy being woken by the alarm. They muttered something incomprehensible as Tsubaki shut it off.

    "Yeah, I slept well," Maka replied, checking to see if there was still any feeling in her arm. The strange feeling that comes when a limb falls asleep but its owner attempts to move it overtook her for a second, then slowly began to fade.

    "What time is it?" Crona asked, blinking slowly. Their hair was a mess, looking like it was hit with both a weed-whacker and a tornado, almost to the point where it resembled cotton candy, but that might have just been the color.

    "Eight o'clock," Tsubaki replied, looking at the alarm clock. The smell of bacon and omelets began to enter the room, pleasantly wafting about.

    "Looks like breakfast is almost ready," Maka said, as Tsubaki got out of bed and left the room. Maka looked back at Crona, trying really hard to not say anything about the state of their bedhead.

    "You look like you're going to laugh," Crona said, sounding a bit confused. "There's nothing on my face, is there?" they asked.

    "No, but your hair..." Maka replied. "Does it always end up like this in the morning?" she asked. Crona sighed, and walked into the bathroom to look at themself in the mirror.

    "Of course," they sighed, picking up Maka's hairbrush from the counter. Maka felt an urge to check her own hair in the mirror, and to her relief, it was nowhere near as bad. Just a little bit tangled. After the two brushed out their hair, they made their way to the kitchen, where Miss Mjolnir was serving omelets and bacon to everyone in the hotel room. She was a good cook, so breakfast turned out very well for the now-excited group.

    "The competition starts at four, right?" Jackie asked between bites.

    "Yes it does," Miss Mjolnir replied. "You guys can do whatever you want as long as you stay at the hotel and return by two-thirty to get ready, unless Mr. Albarn calls you for practice," she added. "Oh, and stay out of the casinos."

    "Do they even let high schoolers in those?" Patty asked.

    "Who cares, they're a scam," Kim replied. "You'll likely just lose all your precious money with nothing to show for it except a gambling addiction."

    "That's pretty pessimistic," Maka pointed out. Kim sighed, returning to her omelet.

    "Did anyone pack swimsuits?" Patty asked. "There is a pool here."

    "It's January," Liz reminded her younger sister.

    "We could skinny dip in the hot tub," Tsubaki suggested. Crona nearly choked on their orange juice, before giving a signal to everyone that they were okay.

    "No," Miss Mjolnir firmly replied. "It may be Vegas, but this hotel does not allow nudity in the pools, did you pay attention to the tour?"

    "Nobody did," Liz said, getting up from the table. "No casino and no pool just leaves the restaurant, and there's no way we can spend all day there."

    "Jackie and I are gonna see if we can fill up an entire lunch on the free bread and water before the waiters get suspicious," Kim said. "Anyone wanna join us?"

    "Please don't get yourselves kicked out," Tsubaki begged, as Liz put her dishes in the sink.

 

    Maka spent the rest of the morning meandering around the hotel's property with Crona, Soul joining them early on in the hallway, having nothing better to do. The trio did not do much that was interesting, save for getting their "lunch" from a vending machine. After another hour of just hanging out there and talking about nothing in particular, the three of them made their way back to the stairs and back to their rooms. It was definitely not the most exciting way to spend the day of their state-level competition, but a calm day was just what they needed, especially for Crona after what they have been through just a few nights previous. Maka hoped that this calm would not lead to a storm.

    "Where were you two?" Liz asked, already in her costume and a small bag in hand. "And according to Black☆Star, Soul was also MIA for a while."

    "We explored the hotel for a bit and just hung out," Maka replied. "Soul was with us, by the way," she added.

    "I'm going to go change," Crona said, walking back to the master bathroom, which thankfully had nobody else in it. Tsubaki walked out from the other bathroom in her costume as well as white tights under her shorts.

    "Liz, you're not wearing anything underneath your shorts?" Tsubaki asked, as Maka walked into the master bedroom. She quickly changed into her costume, before knocking on the bathroom door.

    "Are you done?" she asked. She heard the click of the door unlocking, and Crona opened the door.

    "Yeah," Crona replied. They were fully in their costume, with all they had left to do being buttoning their jacket. Maka noticed they were wearing sheer black tights under their shorts as to not show off their legs as much. Maka pulled her hair into a bun. There was no required hairstyle for anyone to wear, she just felt like it.

    "You look really cute," she said, putting some makeup palettes out on the counter.

    "Really?" Crona asked, blushing a bit. "Thanks," they added, pausing a bit as Maka got out her makeup. "Can I borrow some of that? I didn't bring my own again." Crona asked.

    "It's no problem, I brought a bit extra," Maka replied. _Good thing we're only supposed to do a natural look this time,_ she thought, applying her foundation. Maka got out another foundation color that was much paler than her own and handed it to Crona.

    "Make sure to put some of this on your entire face to make sure your skin looks even," she said, starting to do her eyes. "Oh, and blend it with your neck so it won't look two-tone."

    "Okay," Crona replied, opening up the foundation and mimicking what Maka had done on herself earlier. Maka finished up her eye makeup, both shadow and mascara, and did her lips. The result of her makeup still looked a bit garish due to it being stage makeup, but she was confident enough in how it would look with the stage lights to call it a satisfying job. Crona did not fare nearly as well, still having no idea how to do most of it, so Maka helped them out until theirs looked satisfactory as well.

    "I don't look sick, do I?" Crona asked.

    "Not at all, you look fine," Maka replied. "Are you sick?"

    "No, it's just..." Crona began, "probably the light in here, yeah," they added, trying to reassure themself. Miss Mjolnir called everyone out to the hotel living room, and Maka promptly entered to see all the other girls in full costumes, most not choosing to wear any tights under their shorts, save for Tsubaki with her white tights, and Patty, who was wearing black fishnets with hers. Maka heard Crona approach behind her, as Miss Mjolnir took a deep breath.

    "Okay, everyone's here," Miss Mjolnir sighed. "Mr. Albarn said we're meeting with the boys in the floor landing, so if you guys could all follow me in an orderly fashion..." she said, opening the door to the hallway.

 

    Miss Mjolnir led them all to the main landing by the elevator, where Dr. Stein was standing with most of the boys save for Ragnarok. Dr. Stein explained that Spirit was still helping Ragnarok with stage makeup, and everyone could hear Ragnarok loudly cursing through the walls.

    "Wow, you guys look almost as great as me!" Black☆Star exclaimed.

    "Thanks," Maka replied, looking over at how the boys were dealing with the short shorts issue. Harvar and Soul had exchanged their shorts for black dress pants, while Black☆Star, Kidd, Hiro, Ox, and Kilik wore the shorts as they were. Kidd was counting up which ones from Miss Mjolnir's group were wearing tights, before sighing.

    "Seems like most of you don't really mind the shorts," Patty said, eyeing various pairs of legs indiscriminately. "I'm surprised I'm the only one who went with fishnets."

    "Somehow this outfit feels kinda weird in a group," Ox lamented, as Spirit walked in with Ragnarok.

    "I can't do anything about your scar," Spirit grumbled, sounding like this wasn't the first time he had said this.

    "Piss off," Ragnarok replied.

    "Okay, everyone ready?" Spirit asked, There was a mostly enthusiastic cry of approval from Spartoi, and Dr. Stein pressed the elevator button. "We've made it this far, and we cannot give up now," Spirit began, as Dr. Stein grumbled a bit having pressed the elevator button too soon.

    "Oh my God, Spirit, you can't be seriously doing a speech..." he groaned.

    "If we beat everyone here, we'll be proving ourselves as best in the state. We may have had our setbacks, our worries, and our hardships, but we also have our teamwork, our energy, and our spirit," Spirit continued, chuckling a bit at his own joke.

    "Dude," Black☆Star said for no particular reason.

    "Okay, okay," Spirit said, continuing his pep talk, "and we are going to win this, everybody! Win it for Shibusen, win it for Spartoi, win it for some third thing, I don't know what!"

    "Did you write this out beforehand or are you just pulling it out of your ass as you go?" Dr. Stein asked as the elevator doors closed. He pressed the button again, and the doors reopened.

    "Yes," Spirit replied. Dr. Stein raised an eyebrow. "To the second one," Spirit added for clarification.

    "Of course," Maka whispered.

    "Well everyone, I guess we're off!" Spirit concluded his speech with. "Into the elevator, everyone!"

    "We're going to State!" Hiro exclaimed, as butterflies welled among the group. Everyone got in the elevator, and began their descent to ground level.

    "It's still your damn fault I have this," Ragnarok said, pointing to his scar.

    "I know," Crona replied, looking at the floor.

 

    "Okay, Marie and I are going to get our seats," Dr. Stein said once the elevator re-opened its doors.

    "Break a leg, you guys!" Miss Mjolnir cheered, as she and Dr. Stein walked off. Black☆Star led everyone else down the hall to the hotel's auditorium area, and Spartoi made its way backstage. Maka felt a trembling hand grasp her own as Spirit checked Spartoi in. Maka looked over her shoulder to Crona, who had her hand in a nervous deathgrip. She gave a quick smile in reassurance, as Spartoi made their way to one of the green rooms.

 

    There were already kids from various other teams there, not interacting with anyone who wasn't among their own, but still chatting enough to create a steady white noise.

    "Get out of here, all of you!" Ragnarok shouted, using his size and volume as an advantage.

    "Make us," one boy from another team replied.

    "I have to go to the bathroom," Hiro nervously said, as Ragnarok picked up the cocky young boy and carried him out to the hallway.

    "Okay, I'll give you that," the boy said, walking back in as Spartoi began to disperse into an unoccupied corner. Maka looked over at a piece of printer paper unceremoniously taped to the wall, printed upon it the competition's lineup. _1: Desert Audacity, 2: Singing Tigers, 3: Cactus_ ** _♭_** _s_ _, 4: Reno Sharps, 5: James K. Polk Starlings,_ et cetera, et cetera, up until number _42: Spartoi._ Out of fifty. _We're going to be here a while,_ Maka thought, feeling a slight bit hungry. _And why are there so many school named after presidents nobody remembers?_ she pondered, before scanning the room for a vending machine.

    "Damn it, no couches, we're not on the side with the kitchenette, all we've got is a damn plant over here," Black☆Star complained. "There's not even any secret superballs to throw around and not break anything, _Jackie_ ," he added.

    "That window was open, and the car didn't even dent," Jackie argued. The plant then suddenly moved to reveal itself as someone from another team in costume. Black☆Star squealed in surprise, and several people cracked up laughing. Soul got up to get a drink from the water cooler, and the others began to move around as well.

    "We've known each other for over three years and I've never once heard you make a noise like that," Maka giggled.

    "Shut up," Black☆Star grumbled, as Spirit came in.

    "We're officially checked in, guys," Spirit said, as the opening announcements for the competition began, and a closed-circuit TV came on.

    "Good evening everyone, and welcome to the 2016 Nevada State High School Show Choir Competition, or NSHSSCC," an announcer began to say. "Tonight we are graciously joined by three fantastic judges..." the announcer continued, Spirit glanced up at the TV for a second before he resumed speaking.

    "But I've gotta go to the coaches' green room, since they're not letting me sit with you guys, I'm sorry," Spirit continued, drowning out the announcement of the first judge. "Tell Hiro once he comes back in here." And with that, Spirit left.

    "Granny Auntie, owner of Granny Auntie's Pancake House!" the announcer called out over the TV. An old, yet tough-looking woman stood up from the judges' section and waved.

    "And last but not least, a virtuoso on the violin and as his family says, their greatest pride, Wes Evans!" the announcer called out, as a platinum blond man with a strong resemblance to Soul stood up and waved to the crowd. Soul spit out his water, missing the unfortunately nearby Jackie by a droplet.

    "What?" Soul gasped in shock.

    "And now, Desert Audacity from J. Z. Edgeintosh Academy!" the announcer exclaimed.

 

    "Guys, we're on in ten," Spirit said, returning to the green room after over two hours of Spartoi's waiting. "Come on, we gotta get to the wings," he added, ushering his team out of the green room and up to the backstage area. Maka was fifth in line, behind Crona, Ragnarok, Black☆Star, and Spirit, the lattermost two almost fighting in their step to see who would be leading. Maka tried not to focus on her nervousness, instead looking ahead. _They look like they're shaking,_ she thought, looking at Crona, her eyes slowly trailing down their back and lingering for a second near their jacket's hem, before she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind.

    "What are you looking at... oh," Soul said, glancing over Maka's shoulder. Maka looked at him as he walked behind her. Soul just smirked. Maka felt her face heat up like a flame, expression turning to heightened annoyance. _Is he talking about their butt? How immature._ Maka groaned and returned to looking ahead, as Spartoi came to a standstill on the stairs.

    "What do you mean by 'oh'?" Crona asked. Soul froze up.

    "I, uh..." he began, never actually finishing that sentence. The echo of a preceding team's performance went through the stairwell, as everyone's nerves heightened in both good and bad ways.

    "I think these jackets should've been sparkly," Patty pointed out, as Spirit began handing out a box of headset mics for Spartoi to pass along to each other.

    "Turn these on once we get to the wings," Spirit said, as Crona handed Maka the box. She stepped back two stairs, taking one out before handing the box to Soul. Maka put on her headset and took a deep breath. She could hear another team approaching the stairs, but she paid no mind to that as Soul stepped past her to consolidate space. Maka continued to look at the next few steps ahead and their occupants. _Those shorts actually look tighter than they were when we initially received them. Did Ms. Gorgon put them through the dryer too long?_ Maka thought. _Yeah, they’re definitely something that shrinks._

    There was applause ringing out from the crowd, as the performers on stage switched out to Spartoi's immediate predecessors.

    "Next up, the Show-Tones from West Washington Heights High School!" the announcer said. _Who the hell names their school West Washington Heights? Then again, we're called "Shibusen Academy", so maybe I shouldn't judge here._

    "Are they doing 'Uptown Funk'?" Kim asked, noticing the familiar melody.

    "Sounds like we're Uptown Fucked," Harvar replied.

    "Harvar!" Jackie yelled. Ox lightly smacked Harvar upside the head with the back of his hand.

    "Worth it," Harvar said, smirking.

    Crona looked down over their shoulder at Maka. There was a brief moment where their face looked shaky, between calm and panicked.

    "There are some steps between us," they pointed out, slightly stammering, as the other team began their number. Soul glanced up and then back at Maka. W _hat's with that stupid grin on his face?_ Maka thought, noticing how he smirked at her.

    "Oh yeah, we should probably consolidate a bit more space," Soul replied. Patty began laughing for some unknown reason, perhaps she just remembered a joke she heard.

    "Keep moving!" Spirit exclaimed, as Ragnarok held in laughter. Poorly. Maka leaned against the wall and looked over the stairwell, as Crona stepped down so they would be sharing a step with her and not Ragnarok.

    "Maka, are you as nerv..." Crona started, as Ragnarok rested his arm on their head. "Do you mind?" Crona asked, looking up at him.

    "Nope, this is pretty comfortable," Ragnarok replied. Crona sighed in frustration.

     

    The next few minutes went by in a flash, and a stagehand soon called out for Spartoi.

    "Break a leg, you guys!" Spirit called out. The clicks of fifteen headsets presumably coming on were drowned out by the applause for the previous team, as the lights dimmed and Spartoi took their formation. Maka took a deep breath, standing towards the back. Her lead was in the second half, but she could not become unfocused for even half a second in this first half as well.

 

    The lights came on, and the beginning instrumental for "Bad Reputation" started to play. Kilik turned to face the audience, his voice piercing the crowd with bright passion as he grasped the prop mic's stand. The performance's main choreography was focused on everyone else, weaving in and out amongst each other and keeping their accompanying vocals in tune. Despite this immaculately practiced teamwork, Maka still heard something off, the absence of a certain loud, grating voice. _Don't panic, Maka. Ragnarok's voice drags us down, it's better if he's not using it._ She looked up to see his lips were still moving. _His mic's off,_ she thought, as she and Black☆Star made their way to the front of the stage for the halfway point, as Soul and Kidd came in on the other side, the two pairs flanking Kilik without taking the focus off him. Maka and Soul mirrored each other's moves, just like they practiced, as Kidd and Black☆Star did the same for each other's. Everyone still in the back ran to the front of the stage for the final chorus. Fourteen voices, led by one of their youngest, all belting out the same rebellious anthem in unison, lost in the moment as they sang out the final line, all but Maka and Tsubaki running to the back of the stage in order of their height, shortest to tallest, as the music faded out.

    Maka's heart was racing. Sure, she had the lead, but it was only half. She almost felt like her heart was going to be picked up by the microphone as "Walking on Sunshine" started up. "Bad Reputation" felt like it went by in a flash, even for a fairly short song such as it was. Tsubaki started up the first lines, dancing to the beat. Maka kept in tune with Tsubaki's moves, singing out her the next bit. A feeling of intense euphoria overtook her, as she looked out upon the audience. _This is is what being the lead is like,_ she thought, making a knocking motion with her left fist. _I'm... I'm having fun, no, the time of my life!_ Maka was unsure whether it was just her energy and excitement bursting at the seams, or the song had held such a grip on her mind that its peppy energy had forced her into a transcendent daze. Whatever it was, she loved it, as she and Tsubaki ran to the group to get their dance partners for the chorus. Tsubaki took Liz by the hand, and Maka reached not for Hiro's hand as was originally choreographed, but she went one step over to Crona's hand, and pulled them out a few steps to where Hiro was supposed to stand at this point. He looked offended for half a second until the first "hey!" where everyone left in the crowd shouted it, pumping their left fists in the air. Liz and a confused Crona held up the hands their partners were holding, as Tsubaki and Maka used those arms as a base for a little twirl, toward center stage and then leaning back towards their respective partners, trusting them to not let them

fall. Maka and Tsubaki began singing the second verse, Maka doing it while making direct eye contact with Crona for the first bit, until they were supposed to let her go back up and rejoin Tsubaki. As Maka sidestepped back over to her, the sudden dawning realization hit her. Despite being in a show choir for an entire semester plus a month, and being in love with Crona for about two or three months, this was the first time Maka had ever sang them a love song. Well, technically. But she thought it counted. While Tsubaki was handling a bit to herself, Maka made a mental note as she moved that she should do it for real someday. There was no time for her to keep thinking about that as she rejoined the song, the rest of the girls joining in as well for the second chorus. A loud "hey" from all of Spartoi erupted through the auditorium, but instead of a fist pump this time, everyone jumped up into the air as high as they could go, landing on their feet to continue their routine into the part Spirit had specifically designated for Maka to solo. She alone ran up to the front of the stage in time with the beat, belting out the lyrics with the highest intensity she could muster, until all fifteen present on stage joined up for the final chorus. Tsubaki then delivered the final lyrics, her softer voice providing a great advantage for the fade out as Spartoi got into their final pose. The lights dimmed, applause from the crowd went wild, and Maka was panting from all the singing and dancing. _That was amazing._

 

    Tsubaki led everyone back into the wings as the next team took the stage. A triumphant Spirit approached the team, a huge grin on his face as Spartoi turned off their microphones.

    "You were amazing, Maka!" he shouted, pulling her into a tight hug. "Especially with your solo."

    "Thanks, Papa," Maka replied. "Please let go," she added. _I'm going to have to explain to Hiro why I went off choreography, aren't I? I'll just tell him it was an impulse, not anything to worry about. Besides, he's been letting me do this move with Crona at rehearsal for all of this...month... he knows about New Year's, doesn't he?_

    "In a bit, okay?" Spirit asked, snapping Maka back to reality. Black☆Star hugged Spirit from behind.

    "We get hugs too, right?" he asked.

    "Less hugging, more moving," the stagehand interrupted with. "There's still seven more teams that need to use this wing, now go back to the green room," he barked.

    "Sorry, sorry," Spirit replied, leading Spartoi off back down to the green room.

    "Hey, I think my mic might've been broken," Ragnarok said as they were walking down the halls. Black☆Star tried his best to look innocent.

    "What?" Spirit asked. "Don't worry, I don't think anyone could tell, and the show went on without much of a hitch anyway."

 

    Once in the now-empty green room, Maka sat down on an armchair, Hiro soon walking up to her, a look on his face that showed an alarming lack of rage.

    "Well?" Maka asked, pondering the strange placidness of Hiro's expression. For someone who seemed far more into this club than all the rest of them combined, he sure seemed lax about this deliberate break in choreography, perpetuated by one of the leads, no less.

    "I’m just glad that switch looked natural," Hiro sighed. "Kinda wished you’d still have let me up there though."

    "By the way, Soul," Kidd said, changing the subject, "what made you do that spit take at the mention of Wes Evans? Are you two related?" he asked.

    "I don't want to talk about it," Soul replied, looking back at the closed-circuit TV. "This is the fifth team doing the same Journey song," he sighed. "Why the hell do they all do Journey?"

    "None of the teams have any knowledge of each other's routines, right?" Patty asked.

    "If they did, we wouldn't be hearing the same song five times now, would we?" Ragnarok asked in return, crushing one of the plastic water cooler cups with his hand before tossing it at Crona instead of the garbage can. Which was on the other side of the room. Maka looked back up at the closed-circuit TV at the currently performing team, their glittery silver dresses flowing along to the music. _We were forty-second in line out of fifty. Not towards the middle enough to be easily forgettable, but not towards the end enough to be completely fresh in the judges' minds._ Chatter began among Spartoi about whether or not they were going to win, as Liz took out a black box from her bag. Black☆Star, Tsubaki, Patty, Ragnarok, Kim, and Kilik excitedly surrounded her as she opened the box.

    "You brought Cards Against Humanity?" Black☆Star asked in surprise. "Hell yeah!" he exclaimed, as Liz began dealing cards among her subset of the team.

    "Anyone else want some water?" Hiro asked, standing at the water cooler. No response. "Okay," Hiro added, just getting a cup for himself. Maka decided to just relax as best she could, until the judges passed their verdict, and Spartoi's continuing fate as a competitive team was decided.


	20. Chapter 20

    It had already been half an hour since Spartoi performed. Crona sat alone on a wide couch, still not having calmed down from the performance. Only they and the rest of Spartoi still remained in the green room, finding various ways to entertain themselves. There were several in a corner playing Cards Against Humanity, a game Crona didn't want to join in with, not again, and Ox and Harvar were talking by the water cooler about trigonometry or something. They mentioned cosines once during this conversation, so it must have been about that. Maka was still sitting relaxed out on an armchair, watching Jackie and Soul search for food in the green room's kitchenette. Crona got up from the couch and walked over to the water cooler, filling two cups with lukewarm water. The water in the cups rippled along with their trembling hands. _I still can't calm_ _down, what's wrong with me?_ Crona thought, watching the water. _It wasn't as bad being up there the second time, but I still can't stop thinking about Lady Medusa. I've been trying all weekend to forget for even a second about what might be to come, but I can't._ They took a deep breath before walking over to Maka.

    "You want some water?" Crona asked, holding out a cup.

    "Sure," Maka replied, accepting the cup. Crona brought the other cup of water to their lips and began to take a sip. Maka finished her water in two gulps before adjusting her sitting position. Crona sat down in front of the chair, noticing how Maka looked like she was about to say something. Maka set her empty cup aside and threw her arms around Crona's shoulders, pulling them into a hug. She turned her head to face their ear.

    "If we make it to the top fifty, can I give you a kiss?" she whispered.

    "Maka, there's only fifty competitors," Crona whispered back, a slight smile forming on their face. "Of course you can," they added. Maka hugged Crona tighter, causing their water cup to squeeze out its contents in one big burst, splashing both their chests. Maka broke off the hug to assess what just happened, looking at the water spots on both their jackets.

    "That won't take too long to dry out, right?" Crona asked, unable to directly feel the water against their skin through three layers of clothing.

    "I don't think anyone'll notice," Maka replied.

    "There isn't any food!" Jackie shouted out across the green room. "Soul and I are gonna buy up the snack cakes from the vending machine outside!" she added. _Again I'll end up having to eat. And after what I've done... I guess I should just do what I've been doing this weekend and just have enough to keep my strength going, no more. Besides, once I get back home, Lady Medusa won't let me eat anything for a long, long time, probably not even at school._

    "We can't have snack cakes for dinner!" Tsubaki protested, but she was quickly drowned out by majority rule. She sighed, and drew a black card from the pile. Jackie and Soul came back after about three minutes, both of them with their arms chock full of various snack cakes. Everyone got up and took many, save for Crona, who only took one off-brand frosted honey bun. Jackie and Soul were each left with three snack cakes, as they resigned themselves to some seats. Crona sat by Maka, who had taken four different snack cakes, and looked to be deciding what order to eat them in as Crona tore open the wrapper on theirs and took a bite. It tasted sweet, too sweet, and horribly doughy. It felt terrible to consume something like this, but they tried to stomach it as best they could. Not because it was terrible, but because they still were nervous. Like they had been since what, late Friday afternoon? Despite all their best efforts, it was still a horribly stressful weekend, but it was one Crona still did not want to be over, for fear things will be worse. _It's better to be in purgatory than hell, right?_ Crona thought, feeling like they were going to choke. _Or maybe just oblivion, that wouldn't be nearly as bad._

    "Are you gonna eat that?" Ragnarok asked Crona.

    "I saw you get seven!" Maka snapped. "Why the hell would you still want a half-eaten honey bun if you haven't even finished all those yet?"

    "Screw you," Ragnarok replied, stealing Maka's 2-pack of mini powdered sugar doughnuts and walking away.

    "Dammit, I really wanted those," Maka groaned. "Oh well, it's better than him taking the only thing you have for yourself, right?" she asked Crona.

    "I guess so," Crona replied, taking another bite of their honey bun. The voice on the closed circuit TV then announced that the judges had just began the process of making their decision and the winner would be decided shortly. Considering how long it took at the preliminaries for the judges to decide with only three competitors, overall, Spartoi did not have high hopes for the decision to be anywhere near a quick one.

    "Hiro, how long did it take you guys last year again?" Black☆Star asked.

    "Forty minutes," Hiro replied. Collective groaning ensued.

    "You guys wanna play another round of cards?" Liz asked.

    "Yeah, deal me in!" Maka excitedly replied, picking up her remaining two unwrapped snack cakes and joining the card circle. Crona finished up their honey bun and soon joined in with the others in hopes that the game could distract them from what was going on in their head right now.

    

    Twenty-two minutes later, Spirit opened the door.

    "Guys, we're in the top three!" he exclaimed, motioning for everyone to get to the halls.

    "What?" Soul asked, getting up from an armchair. Other members of Spartoi began to rise. Crona took a quick peek at the cards they were about to read out and sighed with relief. _I don't think I could say those aloud_.

    "Top three, top three," Patty said in a singsong voice as Spartoi made their way up to the stage. The curtain was down, but the lights weren't. Two other teams stood with their coaches, an all-boys' team and an all-girls' one, wearing primarily orange and teal costumes respectively. Crona stood by the edge of Spartoi closest to the wings, Maka at their side. They pre-emptively latched onto her hand, feeling their own hand tremble as the curtain began to rise. Murmurs began among the audience, as the event's announcer took the front of the stage holding two envelopes. Three trophies were wheeled out by stagehands in descending order of size. They were all golden unlike the ones at the preliminaries.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have made their decision and the top three teams have taken the stage in await of their final placements!" the announcer said. "I have here with me Shibusen Academy's Spartoi, T.S. Wellings' All-Boys' High School's Reno Sharps, and Lewis Girls' Preparatory School's Whistling Fey! Give them all a hand!"

    The audience clapped for a bit before the announcer took out his first envelope. Already, there were a few camera flashes coming in, despite the event prohibiting flash photography. Upon seeing these, Crona attempted a very forced smile. After hearing some chuckling from Ragnarok, they returned to their neutral expression.

    "In third place..." the announcer began, fumbling with the envelope a bit, before opening it. For a fleeting moment, Crona felt torn whether or not they even wanted it to be Shibusen. "The Reno Sharps!"

     _We're in the top two, then,_ Crona thought, as the Reno Sharps' coach took the smallest trophy from the lineup, as a brief smattering of applause struck the crowd. The announcer held up the second envelope.

    "And the winner, of the 2016 NSHSSCC is..." the announcer began, pausing for dramatic effect as he opened the envelope. Spartoi and The Whistling Fey all looked in the announcer's direction, varying degrees of nervousness on their faces. Black☆Star even make a preparatory step forward to claim the trophy should it be Spartoi's.

    "Come on, come on..." Maka muttered under her breath. Crona noticed she had her fingers crossed on her other hand.

    "Spartoi!" the announcer shouted. Cheers of victory erupted from fourteen out of its fifteen members and Spirit, Crona just staring dumbfounded at the envelope. "With our runner-up being the Whistling Fey!" the announcer finished, confetti raining upon the stage. Black☆Star, Kidd, both Thompson sisters and Hiro hoisted the trophy over their heads in triumph, as cameras kept flashing to the point the audience's section looked like a starfield. Crona looked down towards Maka to see the look of joy on her face, but they were instead surprised with a half-second peck on the lips. Their face felt really warm, in a flash that extended down through their chest, and they put their hand over their mouth for a second before awkwardly holding it out two inches in front of their face. Maka got down from her tiptoes, her eyes opening, and she quickly turned around to glance at Spirit, who did not apparently seem to notice what had just happened. Maka turned back around and pulled Crona into a really strong hug, erupting into a squeal of delight. _She did that here,_ Crona thought, feeling very flustered, as they glanced out to see cameras still flashing. _How many pictures are these people going to take... wait, what if..._

 

    A first-place trophy in hand, Spartoi made their way back to the green room to get Liz's Cards Against Humanity set, Crona and Maka bringing up the rear. Crona looked over their shoulder, seeing a small dip in the hall by some bathrooms. They grabbed Maka's wrist and pulled her over to the side, both now standing outside the bathroom doors.

    "What was that for?" they asked. _I thought she was going to do it once we got back to the hotel room, they thought. I should've clarified that._

    "Up on stage?" Maka asked in return. Crona nodded their head yes. "I was just going to kiss you on the cheek, I didn't think you were going to move your head," she added, with a smile on her face. "Really, I was just as surprised at how it played out is you are."

    "Oh, okay," Crona replied, sounding a bit calmer until another thought hit them. "Do you think any of those cameras got a picture of it?" they asked.

    "Probably," Maka replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "Oh man, if Papa had saw, he'd be the one pulling me off to the side for a little chat instead of you," she added. "I still haven't even told him what happened on New Year's."

    "You haven't?" Crona asked.

    "I was going to after we got back to Death City," Maka replied. "I don't think he'd disapprove of us beyond the fact I'm dating someone in general, so it's not like we're risking anything huge by me telling him," she said. "But enough about Papa... you're not upset, are you?"

    "Upset?" Crona began. "No, it's fine, it's just I was a little surprised, that's all. I'm not much for PDA."

    "I get that, I'm not really much of a heavy PDA person either," Maka replied. Crona sighed with relief as a tall, platinum blond man who looked a lot like Soul approached the two of them. Crona signaled Maka to turn around, after noticing he had a pin that read "JUDGE".

    "You two are in Spartoi, right?" the man asked.

    "Yeah," Maka replied.

    "I'm Wes Evans, one of the judges," the man introduced himself with. He then held out his driver's license as proof. "Was that albino boy on your team my little brother, Solomon?" he asked. Maka and Crona looked at each other for a second.

    "He's got the same stupid grin as Soul," Maka whispered, taking her phone out of her jacket pocket. "Distract him, I'm going to take a pic and send it to Soul to see if this is really his brother. If he isn't, we run."

    "Okay," Crona whispered back, before looking back at Wes. "Uh..." they started, looking over their shoulder at a few kids walking down the hallway dressed as plants. Wes turned to look at them too for half a second, before looking back at Maka, who was typing something on her phone. _She got the picture_.

    "I don't really remember there being a Solomon," Crona said, as Maka's phone went off. She glanced down at it for a bit.

    "You mean Soul, right?" Maka asked Wes. "He's been going by Soul since before I met him."

    "Yeah," Wes replied, as Soul approached. "Solomon, there you are!" Wes exclaimed. "You guys did great."

    "Don't use nepotism to get me to like you, Wes," Soul said.

    "I, uh..." Wes started, "thought we already liked each other. I mean, everyone likes me, right? Even these girls were fawning and speechless, look how flustered they still are. Bet they’re big fans of my music." he said. Crona suddenly felt very uncomfortable. _Okay, okay, he's never seen or met me before today, I mean, people always assume something at first,_ they thought, as Maka gave a loud and distracting fake cough, before beginning to speak up.

    "Wes-"

    "Please tell me you only forgot and that wasn't deliberate," Soul interrupted Maka with. Maka then glared at him a little.

    "Forgot that you 'didn't like me'?" Wes asked.

    "No, you piece of... ugh," Soul groaned. "Will you two excuse us for a second?" he asked, pulling Wes into the mens' restroom.

    "Should we tell someone about the nepotism thing?" Crona asked.

    "That might've been just a wild accusation," Maka replied. "He didn't actually say whether or not he voted for us," she added. "I'm more worried as to whether the misgendering was intentional."

    "It probably wasn't..." Crona began, "he doesn't even know me, after all," they added, sounding unsure. _Well, Soul could have talked to him about me, so it's not like he'd completely have no idea. If so…_  "I mean, it's not like I'll even see him ever again," they added to try and calm themself down.

    "There you are, Maka!" Spirit exclaimed, running over to Maka and Crona. "They're doing an um, more adult show here at midnight, so we've gotta head back to our hotel rooms," he added, as Soul walked out of the bathroom.

    "Can't believe he did it on purpose, what an asshole," Soul grumbled, following the other three back to the hotel rooms.

 

    The rest of the night was uneventful, just relaxing in respective hotel rooms, until the early morning the next day, where Crona was awoken to the sound of Patty squealing with joy in the other room.

    "Snow! Snow!" she shouted. _What exactly... snow? I've never seen it before,_ Crona thought, as they slowly walked out to the living room behind Maka and Tsubaki. Odd that it'd be here.

    "Half an inch in Death City?" Miss Mjolnir asked over the phone. "And the schools are closed?"

    "Yes! I'm not gonna get marked with an absence!" Maka exclaimed, sounding more joyful than Patty. Miss Mjolnir said a quick "okay, thank you," and hung up her phone.

    "Is that Black☆Star?" Liz asked, pointing out the window at what appeared to be Black☆Star, playing around in the miniscule amounts of snow, not even out of his pajamas. The other boys were with him, as well as Dr. Stein and Spirit.

    "Everyone get your stuff packed, we can go out in it if you guys would like," Miss Mjolnir said. There was plenty of enthusiastic agreement, and the girls and Crona were soon headed outside. Miss Mjolnir started loading their luggage into the bus as the teens assessed the amount of snow in their surroundings.

    "We can't do much in it," Jackie remarked. "It's not even on the parking lot, just a bit on cars and stuff, and it's more slush than snow anyway" she added, as Crona carefully approached a small bit and stuck their ungloved hand in it.

    "It's so cold," they said to themself, taking their hand right out of the snow. They were then hit in the face by a hard, icy slushball. It stung like hell, but remained fully intact even after hitting the pavement. Disoriented, Crona looked for the assailant, even though they were so certain as to who it was they could bet money.

    "Ragnarok, no faces!" Dr. Stein yelled, confirming Crona's suspicion. Dr. Stein was then hit in the torso by another slushball.

    "I've got like ten of these, so everyone better shut the hell up!" Ragnarok shouted. Crona then picked up the still-intact slushball that lay by their feet, the cold nearly numbing their fingertips, and took aim.

    "Stop it, you guys!" Miss Mjolnir frantically exclaimed, as more slushballs began to be thrown amongst Spartoi, Spirit even joining in.

    "Put that down right now, you-" Ragnarok began, before being hit square in the jaw by the slushball Crona threw. Ragnarok then picked up his bucket of slushballs and ran towards Crona. _Oh, crap._ Crona dashed back towards the bus with a squeal of panic. Until they slipped on some black ice and landed flat on their face. On the pavement, too, no less.

    "Time out!" Miss Mjolnir yelled, as Tsubaki and Maka went to go check on Crona.

    "I'm okay," Crona said, getting up to a seated position. Blood began to trickle out from a spot on their forehead.

    "That's a big scrape, actually," Tsubaki pointed out in a fearful tone. "Miss Mjolnir, please get the fist aid kit out of my bag, Crona's bleeding!" she called out, as Ragnarok dumped his bucket of slushballs on Crona's back. They felt almost like lumps of solid ice as they crashed against Crona's back, but the pain thankfully didn’t last very long.

    "Where did you even get that bucket?" Maka asked, as Tsubaki started checking Crona's scalp for any more bleeding. Ragnarok tossed his bucket aside, and it soon hit a chain-link fence.

    "Stop the slushball fight and get in the bus right now!" Miss Mjolnir yelled out across the parking lot. The sound of slushballs being dropped onto the pavement thundered through for half a second, and the other Spartoi members and Spirit carefully made their way to the bus. Miss Mjolnir brushed aside Crona's bangs and put a bandage on their scrape. Maka helped Crona up, and they soon made their way back on the bus.

 

    The ride home never takes as long, or so they say. But if you dread going back, it will feel like forever. Crona spent the entire ride feeling like there was a gaping hole in their stomach. And in their chest. And their head. It would be better to assume their entire body at this point. They leaned up against Maka, not sure if they were shivering out of fear or being out in the cold. Until the realization hit them like a runaway train at full speed.

    "Hey, who's that guy talking to Ms. Gorgon?" Kidd asked. _Fear, definitely fear._

    "There's a child services car in her driveway, too," Kilik pointed out.

    "It's Mifune!" Black☆Star exclaimed. "Crona, you're gonna be OK!"

    "Provided Lady Medusa suddenly lost the capability to lie," Crona muttered. "But that's just too unlikely."

    "You guys missed my house," Ragnarok stated, as Crona and Maka got up from their seats together and walked out the bus door. They were standing out on Maka's lawn, right across the street from the last place Crona wanted to be right now.

    "See you guys at school tomorrow!" Maka said, waving goodbye.

    "Um, yeah," Crona added. "See you guys tomorrow," they reaffirmed. Goodbyes and words of encouragement came from the bus, as Dr. Stein began to drive off. The bus pulled away, to reveal Medusa calmly talking to a man in official-looking attire with his long platinum blond hair flowing free. _That's what Mifune must look like_ , Crona thought, clutching on to Maka's hand.

    "I'm scared," they said, as Medusa looked over at the two teens.

    "CRONA, GET OVER HERE!" Medusa yelled. Crona felt like they were going to die, or at the very least pass out. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

    "You can do it," Maka said, giving Crona a long hug goodbye. "I'll be right here, okay?" she asked as she let go, taking a few steps back toward her house's door.

    "Okay," Crona replied, turning back towards the street. They did not look both ways as they crossed the empty street, figuring getting hit by a car just might be preferable to what Medusa would do to them. Crona slowly approached Medusa and Mifune, the look in their eyes being the first cue that everything was definitely not going to be okay. Keep it together, keep it together, they thought. Mifune turned away from Medusa for a second to look at Crona. His eyes widened for a second, as he noticed their stick-like legs and a collarbone that jut out from the sweater's neckline. At first glance, just how underweight they were was horribly apparent.

    "Crona, please tell me why there is another child services worker on my lawn," Medusa said. "I thought your department already investigated me," she added to Mifune. "And found nothing out of the ordinary."

    "I..." Crona began. "I think someone must've called again," they said. _That's it, feign ignorance, at least until she's... who am I kidding, I'll never be left out of her sight no matter how this goes,_ they thought.

    "But who exactly could have done that?" Medusa asked, feigning innocence. "Like I said to him yesterday,I haven't done anything wrong."

    "Again, not according to my reports," Mifune interjected. "We got several calls over the last week about you, Ms. Gorgon. I still cannot say who called to protect their anonymity, but the sheer amount of them prompted your reinvestigation."

    Medusa looked shocked for half a second, before looking at Crona. She did not need to say a word to them, just a look was necessary to convey what she was thinking. Crona felt a large pang of guilt, like they were going to lose their breakfast at any moment. They felt hot tears well up in their eyes. _No, I can't ever admit I was one of the calls, she'd probably kill me._

    "Well, I'm sure your department's not going to find anything wrong this time either," Medusa replied. "Now, why don't you two come inside?" she asked in a honeyed voice. "Crona, you must be so cold without a coat on." _That's right, I left my coat at school last Friday,_ Crona thought. _If it weren't for Ragnarok dragging me off so quickly, I would have it._

    "In a second, I have to turn off my car," Mifune said, walking off towards his car, which was already off. As Medusa walked back up to the door, Mifune signaled Crona to walk over with him.

    "What is it?" Crona whispered.

    "I was just wondering what pronouns you go by," Mifune inquired. "The city records list you as female, but when you called me, you just referred to yourself as her child. Did that mean anything?"

    "It did," Crona replied. "I'm agender, and I've usually been going by neutral pronouns, though I'm really fine if you use anything but 'it'," they said. "But it might be better right now if you referred to me as 'she' just to not anger my mother any further."

    "Are you not out to her?" Mifune asked.

    "No, I am," Crona replied. "She just thinks it's a phase, and that I'm confused."

    "I'm sure you aren't confused," Mifune said, pretending to shut off his car. "But are you sure it won't bother you if I use 'she'?"

    "It'll be fine for now, I guess," Crona replied.

    "You're still outside?" Medusa loudly asked from the doorstep. "It's much warmer in here," she added. I guess she's going for the 'nothing is wrong' route again, Crona thought, as Mifune closed his car door and made his way up the walk, Crona soon following. "What the hell were you two talking about?" Medusa hissed in Crona's ear.

    "He was just wondering what gender I was," Crona replied.

    "That means he must've not done his research on us," Medusa said, raising an eyebrow. "Any fool could look you up in the city's records and see that I gave birth to a baby girl fifteen years ago. Now remember the signal," Medusa added, tapping her hip with her pinky finger. "You must not speak unless I make this signal, understand?"

    "Understand," Crona replied. Medusa turned back to look at Mifune.

    "See?" she asked. "We're clearly a respectable and loving family."

    "Even the wealthiest person with the finest home could still mistreat a child," Mifune noted. "Child abuse does not exclusively happen below certain income levels."

    "Damn, he's not shallow," Medusa grumbled under her breath, as Mifune walked over to the kitchen. "It's not like he can prove my allegations by looking around the house again anyway, I have nothing to worry about," she told Crona. "The only way he could find anything that incriminates me is if he talked to you," she said, walking back over to where Mifune was. Crona just sat by the heat vent for a few minutes to warm up, feeling no doubt that Mifune was questioning Medusa in the other room. _She's right, the only way he could find any real evidence is talking to me. But do I really have the guts to do this to my own mother?_ Crona thought, as Medusa walked back in the living room.

    "Crona, could you come in with us for a second?" Medusa asked.

    "Yes, ma'am," Crona replied, walking back over to their mother.

    "Ms. Gorgon, when I said I wanted a word with your child, I meant in private," Mifune said.

    "What difference would that make?" Medusa asked. "Crona wouldn't say anything different here than what she would alone," she added. Crona watched Medusa's hand for the signal, but it was not given.

    "I only came back here today because your child would be home," Mifune said. "I did not know she would be gone over the weekend, and all I need to complete my investigation is interviews with her and the neighbors across the street.  Your house showed no signs of neglect, and you answered every single question I gave the same way your answered them to Ms. Ponera last December, just with slightly different wording."

    "Well, maybe that was because things haven't really changed," Medusa replied. "I have not been treating Crona even a bit differently since before the previous investigation."

    "Ms. Ponera's investigation was deemed invalid because she never got Crona's perspective of the events," Mifune said. "And I'm here to get that, so if you really do have nothing to worry about, you can let me talk to your child in private."

    "Of course," Medusa said. "But I must warn you, she's mentally ill, so her perspective's going to be warped, possibly even unreliable," she added, as Mifune and Crona walked off down the hall.

    "Mentally ill?" Mifune asked.

    "I have a few things," Crona replied. "It's not going to 'warp my perspective' regardless," they added, leading Mifune down the stairs to their room. They opened to door to their tiny, windowless gray room and sat down on their bed.

    "Is this a guest room?" Mifune asked.

    "No, it's my room," Crona replied. "Did my mother show you one of the guest rooms upstairs, saying it was mine?" they asked. Mifune nodded his head, and brought Crona's desk chair over so he could sit across from them. "I should probably add that she often locks me in this very room from the outside. It's kind of like a prison."

    "She did," Mifune replied, "and everything you told me in that phone call was true, right?" he asked.

    "Yes," Crona replied.

    "Was the time you mentioned about her hitting you the only time?" Mifune asked, looking at the bandage peeking out from underneath Crona's bangs.

    "It was the only time," Crona replied, noticing where Mifune had looked. "This is from this morning, I slipped on some black ice and scraped my forehead," they added, peeling off the bandage and showing off the scrape. It was no longer bleeding, but the skin was still torn.

    "I see," Mifune said, taking out a doll from his inside coat pocket. "Has she ever abused you sexually?" he asked. "Touched anything you didn't want to be touched, forced you to do something with your body or hers you didn't want to, anything like that?"

    "No," Crona replied. "She doesn't usually do any kind of physical contact with me whatsoever."

    "Okay," Mifune said, writing something down on a clipboard. "How often does she starve you for, and how long?" he asked, putting the doll back in his pocket.

    "It happens all the time, and it's usually for several days on end," Crona replied. "I still get to eat lunch at school most times, just so people don't get too suspicious," they added, looking down at their bony fingers and their extremely thin legs. "It's still really taking its toll, and I'm not sure if I can keep up living like this for much longer."

    "I can see that, if you're really losing weight at a rate like one of your friends said over the phone," Mifune began, "you'd at least end up in the hospital by the end of the year," he said. Crona knew something like that would eventually happen to them if they kept up living life as usual, but the thought of it being this soon terrified them. They tried not to picture themself lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to copious amounts of machines just so they wouldn't die.

    "I...I'm not sure she'd go that far, right?" Crona asked themself, clutching their arm tightly.

    "She could, to keep up the excuse she's been using for your weight," Mifune replied. "Anorexia sends a surprisingly large amount of people to the hospital." _She's still telling people that my weight's due to that._ "What exactly does she even starve you for?" Mifune asked.

    "A lot of things," Crona replied. "My grades being lower than the ninetieth percentile, staying up too late even for studying, coming home from school with bruises on my face from bullies, saying the wrong thing, staying out with friends for too long, staying out with friends at all, sometimes even for talking to this one specific person, anything involving the guidance counselor, mentioning anything might be wrong with our home situation, and... and..." Crona strained at finishing this list; not because the last item they could think of was particularly painful, but because they had already realized the list had gone on for so long, and that there were so many things Medusa deemed offenses, whether actually bad or just an overblown misdemeanor, that they would just be sitting here and talking all day. "so many other things that I've lost count of it all," Crona said, feeling like they were going to cry. "And she's been doing this since before I could remember," they added, taking a deep breath to try and stay calm. Mifune wrote down some more stuff on his clipboard.

    "It's not your fault you had to go through all this," he said, looking up at Crona with a reassuring face. Yes, it is. If I hadn't been so horrible... Crona thought. "I'm going to do the best I can to help you get out of this, okay?" Mifune asked. "I promise."

    "Thank you," Crona replied, not knowing what else to say.

    "Before I go interview the neighbors, I have to ask, has she done anything else to you that we haven't gone over?" Mifune asked.

    "Other than always talking to me like I'm some worthless speck of dust, no," Crona replied. "That's pretty much it," they said. Mifune wrote down one last thing on his clipboard and stood up.

    "Thank you for telling me all this," he said, pulling a piece of candy out of his jacket pocket. "Do you like sweets?" he asked, holding out the candy. Crona nodded their head yes, and took the piece of candy. "You don't have to thank me for that one, I'm just doing my job," Mifune said, opening the door to Medusa, who at first glance had a calm expression on her face. Crona instinctively dropped the candy down their sweater's neckline, but since their binder was on, the candy just plopped into their lap.

    "Do you need anything before you go?" Medusa asked Mifune.

    "No thank you, I'll be fine," Mifune replied, walking back up the stairs, Medusa following him out. Crona picked up the candy from their lap, and hurriedly unwrapped it. It was a hard candy, not a chewy one, so they were disheartened that they could not eat it very quickly. _If it's not too solid, I could just crunch it up,_ Crona thought, popping the candy in their mouth. It tasted very salty and bitter, but it was food, so they did not complain, crunching it up into pieces small enough to swallow. Once they swallowed the chunks of candy, they looked at the wrapper to see what the heck the strange flavor was. Seaweed.

    "Why would anyone make a seaweed flavored candy?" Crona muttered to themself, stuffing the wrapper in their pillowcase. They heard a vibrating sound from inside one of their dresser drawers, and opened the drawer to check it out. It was their cell phone, and they had received a message from Ragnarok.

    "sent black☆star a pic of you i snuck last friday. for cps guy," the message read. Then a picture came up. Crona looked at the picture, seeing it was of themself, at night, illuminated by the lone streetlamp. The lighting was just enough that their highly underweight frame was apparent, sticking out very well against their dark tank top and undershorts. A feeling of discomfort welled up in Crona's chest upon seeing how much skin the form-fitting and revealing attire revealed, and in what places.the lighting most highlighted. Another message popped up below.

    "also sent the pic to maka. thought shed appreciate it," the message read. Crona sent back a quick text to tell Ragnarok to stop messaging them, adding a "code x" at the end to signify it was a dangerous time due to Medusa. After getting a "k" back in reply, Crona deleted the string of messages, then shoved the phone back in their dresser drawer and up the leg of a pair of pajama pants for extra security. They sat back down on their bed, holding their pillow tightly up against their chest, and waited it out until Medusa came back.

    "What did you tell him?" Medusa hissed, opening up Crona's door.

    "Everything," Crona replied. Medusa let out a load groan of rage, startling Crona. She picked up one of Crona's boots from the floor, about to raise it to their face, but put it down.

    "No, no I shouldn't," Medusa muttered to herself. "I really do not want to add extra fuel to the fire."

    "Wait, does that mean this went bet... worse than last time?" Crona asked, catching themself last second to make it sound better to Medusa.

    "Don't try to act like you're on my side anymore after this," Medusa replied. "You are only going to leave this room only for school and to use the bathroom until college, understand?" she asked. "No food until the end of the week, and you'll only get to drink water at the school fountains. And give me your phone, wherever you hid the damn thing this time."

    "Yes, Lady Medusa," Crona sighed, getting their phone out of the dresser and handing it over. Medusa unlocked it and began reading through Crona's messages. _Good thing I deleted the ones I received just now,_ Crona thought, as Medusa put the phone in her pocket.

    "I can't fucking believe you right now," Medusa said, walking back to the door. "I should have never had you in the first place, Crona," she added, leaving Crona's room and putting a lock on the door from the outside. Crona took a few deep breaths, feeling themself get into a panic. _Don't tell me it's happening again,_ they thought, clutching the pillow even harder, before realizing that yes, they were definitely about to go into a panic attack.

    "A-at least that went better than expected," they tried to reassure themself, tears hitting their pillow. "Who am I kidding, I'm going to die."


	21. Chapter 21

    "Thank you for your time, Miss Albarn," Mifune said, closing up his briefcase and getting up from the armchair. Maka stood up from the couch and walked over to the front door to show him out.

    "I'm happy to help," she replied, as Mifune stepped out onto the front walk. He tossed Maka a piece of candy which she caught with her free hand. "You'll do your best to help make sure Crona gets out of there, right?" Maka asked, glancing down at the candy wrapper. _Seaweed flavor?_ she thought, looking back up at Mifune.

    "Of course I will," he replied. "And not just because it's my job," he added, walking back across the street to his car. Maka noticed Medusa watching out her window like a hawk. _I hope Crona's gonna be okay in there,_ Maka thought, shutting the door behind her.

 

    The next morning, Maka carefully walked up Shibusen Academy's front stairs incase there was any leftover ice from yesterday, rock salt crunching in her shoes as she made her way to the front doors. Immediately upon entering the front hall, she was greeted by Black☆Star, who was holding up a tablet with a digital version of the local newspaper on it.

    "Did you see the picture the paper used for our Regionals victory?" he asked excitedly. Maka shook her head no, and Black☆Star showed her the article. _"Shibusen Academy's Spartoi Does It Again: You Mean They're Really Moving on to a National Championship?"_ Below the wordy header was a picture taken during the onstage celebration. A golden trophy held up over the heads of a few enthusiastic team members, and the rest of the team plus Spirit making a triumphant background. Maka's eyes immediately went to the edge of the group to see what moment the photographer caught she and Crona in. Her eyes widened, seeing that the picture

was taken at the exact half second where she kissed them on the lips.

    "Ha, you're bright red!" Soul pointed out from twenty feet away, walking with Crona to approach the two. "What's this?" he asked, looking at the picture. Crona peeked over Soul's shoulder.

    "Oh my gosh," they said, looking closer in disbelief, before looking back at Maka, who had a flustered grin on her face. _Who would've thought this was the best picture they had?_

    "You guys definitely gotta make it official now," Black☆Star said, laughing.

    "Make what official?" Liz asked from the other side of the hall, dashing over to see the article. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "Congratulations, you two."

    "Thanks," Maka replied.

    "Um, yeah," Crona added. "Thank you."

    "Look at how flustered they both are," Soul chuckled. "Come on, we don't want to miss our classes," he added, walking off with a stupid grin on his face. Liz caught sight of Patty, and she and Black☆Star hurried over to show Patty the picture.

    "That picture actually came out looking really cute," Crona said, running their right hand up their left arm. The motion unintentionally pulled up their sleeve, revealing the hastily washed-off remains of a really intricate scribbled design.

    "Woah, what's that drawing on your wrist?" Maka asked, her eyes lighting up. Crona held up their drawn-on arm, showing the faint design to Maka.

    "That is the result of being locked in my room all day," Crona replied. "And the only thing I could find for any sort of entertainment was a permanent marker."

    "It looks really good," Maka said, holding on to their hand. Crona covered their wrist back up after seeing a teacher walk by.

    "Thank you," Crona replied, resting their other hand on top of Maka's. "I also drew a few things in my poetry notebook until the marker ran out. I'd show you, but I left the notebook at home," they added, straining to say "home".

    "Are you okay?" Maka asked, noticing how their voice strained. Crona shook their head no. Maka used her free arm to try and hug Crona. Crona let go of her hand and hugged her back. The two of them heard the front doors open, but didn't bother to look over, knowing that due to the time of day, people were coming in school as normal.

    "You two are blocking the hall!" Ragnarok shouted, shoving them both over. Not able to free their arms from each other's embrace quick enough, they crashed to the tile floor. Maka looked up at Ragnarok with an enraged glare.

    "What the hell?" she asked, as she and Crona slowly broke off their hug. "There was still plenty of room, just walk around us next time!" Maka snapped.

    "Sure," Ragnarok said in a sarcastic tone that suggested he was definitely not going to do that. He rolled his eyes and walked off to the locker halls.

    "Bastard!" Maka called out in his direction, before looking back at Crona, who was getting back up on their feet. They showed Maka an outstretched hand and helped her up. "Thanks," she said, brushing herself off as the five-minute bell rang, and people started to disperse to their classrooms.

    "I guess we have to get going," Crona sighed, trying to put on a brave face and adjusting the straps on their bag. Maka made a nod in agreement, and the two of them started walking together to class.

 

    The morning went on after that like any other school morning, which was an almost pleasant return to normalcy after what happened over the preceding weekend. Lunch went on as usual too, with the exception of Crona being completely empty-handed and refusing any offers from the others to share lunch with them. All they had in the cafeteria that day was a bottle of water, which they could barely finish drinking despite it being an average-sized bottle. Geography was right after lunch, and it went as usual too, save for a certain stomach that kept growling throughout the teacher's presentation on topography. After all that, the only thing left was Earth Science, a class that out of the five freshmen in Spartoi, Maka only shared with Soul. The only thing that went on in there was a surprise pop quiz, which Maka finished with no trouble. After the class was over and the bell rang, Maka began picking up her books from her desk and putting them back in her bag. Then she heard the door slam open, and the teacher chastise a panting Hiro. Hiro looked like he had been running across at least half the school, which meant he had to have cut a lot of his fifth period's class, and he was quite short of breath.

    "Choir room," Hiro panted, looking out to the seats. Maka and Soul looked upon Hiro with curiosity and confusion. "Urgent," Hiro added. "Damn it, there's only two of you here," he muttered under his breath.

    "What?" Soul asked. "But there's no meeting today, it's Tuesday."

    "Urgent," Hiro repeated. "Nationals," he panted.

    "Do you need a drink of water?" one of Maka's classmates asked. Hiro nodded, and she handed him her water bottle. Soul and Maka left the classroom and went over to the choir room at a normal pace, feeling no need to hurry. After all, it was a Tuesday.

 

    Once there, they saw everyone else from Spartoi except for Hiro inside. But that changed a few seconds later when he dashed in and took a seat in one of the room's many chairs.

    "Everyone's here, and on a Tuesday too, for that matter," Spirit said, as Maka and Soul took their seats.

    "Make this quick, we're already late for cheer," Kim said.

    "As you guys all know, Nationals is coming up," Spirit began. "I'm already in awe at how you kids could even make it this far despite almost all of you having no prior experience, and with that came inspiration, so instead of only highlighting a few of you in solos and leaving the rest as a backup ensemble, we're all going to sing as one for one big number!"

    "You lost your damn mind?" Ragnarok asked. "Soul, Jackie, Harvar, Kim, Black☆Star, Maka, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Crona, Kidd, Hiro, Kilik, and Ox can't sing worth shit!"

    "Did you just name everybody here but you?" Liz asked.

    "Yeah, you all suck," Ragnarok replied.

    "You can't sing either!" Maka snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. _Worse than all of us, and he has the gall to say everyone's bad but him?_

    "Yeah, your mic was shut off at State on purpose, that's how bad you are," Hiro added.

    "Okay everyone, let's not antagonize anyone any further," Tsubaki said. "I don't want anyone to get thrown into the wall," she muttered to Maka.

    "Wait, you shut me off on purpose?" Ragnarok asked. "So why was I even there?"

    "When does this 'lay low from the counselor by faking an interest in the arts' period even end, man?" Black☆Star asked.

    "I'm not quitting anytime soon," Ragnarok replied. "This is the only year I get to spend time with my cousin here, remember?"

    "Oh, that's right, I only have to live in fear _at school_ until the end of the year," Crona said to themself. Ragnarok got up and tilted their chair forward until they fell out of it, landing face-first on the floor. Spirit glared at Ragnarok, who went right back to his chair, feeling absolutely no remorse. Crona got up and sat back by Maka. "He just proved my point, didn't he?" they asked at a low volume. Maka nodded in agreement.

    "As I was saying before all that," Spirit continued from earlier, "Soul, do you know how to play 'Defying Gravity' from 'Wicked'?" he asked.

    "No, but I can learn it by then," Soul replied.

    "Okay, what do you guys want our second song to be?" Spirit asked the group. "You guys get to pick it." Excited murmuring abounded. Hiro, Maka, Black☆Star, Jackie and Ox stood up, walking out a few steps into the floor and away from the chairs.

    "We should do,'Sexyback'" Hiro said. Never had he heard a louder chorus of "NO!" from so many people directed at him.

    " _Bring Me To Life_ by Evanescence!" Maka and Black☆Star both shouted with devious grins on their faces. Soul stuck his index fingers up in the air like he was flipping them the bird. Spirit immediately caught on, and Soul was reprimanded. Surprisingly, a few hands went up for Maka and Black☆Star's suggestion, something that perplexed them both.

    "What about 'Footloose'?" Jackie asked.

    "I have a new song I wrote about my beautiful girlfriend Kim," Ox interjected. "It's called 'Song of My Home' and it's about our romance from her perspective, and-"

    "I went on one damn pity date with you like two months ago, stop insisting I'm your girlfriend!" Kim snapped. _She finally reached her limit._ "Ox, you don't know when to quit, do you?" Kim asked. "I've been putting up with your advances for three years straight, and I at the time thought the one pity date would make you relent, but you haven't changed at all. Stop saying I'm your girlfriend when we've only been on one date, and we haven't even kissed or hugged or done anything even remotely romantic together since. Please, please just give up on me already, I am not interested and never have been."

    "But I've spent half a million dollars on my gifts and offerings for you over all this time!" Ox whined. "And my parents hate me now because of it."

    "Half a million dollars?" everyone except Ox and Kim shrieked. _I thought it was only twenty thousand. Could he really have spent that much extra since winter break?_

    "Dude, get a life," Black☆Star said.

    "If you want romantic, I can give you romantic," he said, begging on his knees. "I can give you anything you want."

    "Okay, I want you to stop bothering me," Kim replied. Jaws dropped across the room. Ox looked taken aback for a second, even taking a step back. His face contorted in anger for a second, nearly to a boiling point, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

    "If it's for you, I can accept that," Ox said. He cast an aside glance at the calendar. "Fine, I guess we didn't have anything special after all," he sighed, going back to a seat away from Kim. Kim looked very confused. Out of curiosity, Maka looked at the calendar. Today's date was February 2. _Wonder if Ox has something planned?_ Maka thought, mentally going back to how tenacious Kim said he had been for the past three years and how brushing it all off like that just wasn't making any sense. Jackie was standing up out in the floor not knowing what to say, clearly confused as well. She cleared her throat.

    "So, um, how about doing 'Footloose' for Nationals?" she asked.

    "That's a great idea," Harvar replied, nodding.

    "Yeah," Kim added.

    "Anyone else in favor, raise your hand," Spirit said. Maka put her hand up, and looked around the group. Not only were Jackie, Harvar, and Kim's hands up, but Kilik, Soul, Black☆Star, Kidd, Liz, and Patty raised their hands. Ten hands out of fifteen, the highest margin Spartoi had today. Tsubaki put up her hand, making it eleven. "Okay, looks like we've got a winner, unless anyone else has a suggestion," Spirit said. Nobody said anything immediately, so it was decided. For Nationals, Spartoi would be doing "Defying Gravity" and "Footloose".

    "Maka," Crona whispered. "what is a footloose?" they asked.

    "It's a song from an 80's movie with the same title," Maka replied. "It's actually a pretty good song, and it's really upbeat, so we're probably going to have a lot of fun doing it."

    "I hope we do," Crona replied, smiling for a second.

    "Okay, you guys can go back to your other clubs n-"

    "There you are, Spirit!" Principal Morte said, walking in the room. "Oh good, and so's all of Spartoi!" he added in a singsong voice. "So," he began, looking out at the fifteen members, "in April, we're doing our junior and senior proms, and I thought it would be fun to have you guys do some songs for everybody there for a bit. Student morale needs a boost after the devastating losses from nearly our entire block of competitive teams this year."

    "Principal Morte, we have a national competition to get ready for," Spirit protested.

    "None of their other extracurriculars are still in session, right?" Principal Morte asked. "Because if so, they could just all meet every day instead of just three a week."

    "Principal Morte, Kim, Patty and I still have cheer," Jackie said. "I know we aren't competitive cheerleaders, and just there to support the sports teams, but we're still doing practice until the end of the year to cheer for the water polo and varsity soccer teams."

    "Water polo got disbanded this semester due to lack of interest," Principal Morte replied. "And I'm sure the morning cheer practices'll prepare you three more than enough to cheer for a few soccer games."

    "I guess, but..." Jackie started.

    "Man, high school water polo is a dying art in Southern Nevada," Principal Morte said. "What were we, the only team in the region after a while?"

    "Yeah, and nobody even signed on this year," Spirit added. "And since last year the 'team' only consisted of three seniors, they weren't even eligible to compete in anything. Don't even know why we kept up the signup sheet this year's first semester." As Spirit and Principal Morte kept going on about water polo, Ragnarok physically herded Spartoi into a huddle, keeping a borderline-painful grip on Crona's shoulder.

    "I don't even want to go to that stupid prom, much less spend my time there singing instead of trying to pick up hot chicks," Ragnarok said. "Who's with me?"

    "I actually think it would be fun," Tsubaki said. "Besides, it's not like we're choreographing anything for prom, we just have to stand on a stage with our mics and sing school-approved songs."

    "Oh no, Hiro, I don't think you're gonna be able to do 'Sexyback'," Black☆Star said.

    "That's definitely a prom-appropriate song, what are you talking about?" Hiro asked in defense.

    "Is anyone else against this thing?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Oh, if you guys aren't against it, I'll go ahead and say you're performing," Principal Morte said, overhearing Ragnarok because of his lack of whispering. "Not too much of a damper on things, is it?" Principal Morte asked Spirit. "Anyway, here's the list detailing what stuff you guys can't sing about, you can use pretty much any song that doesn't have these themes in it," he said, handing Spirit a list. "Gotta go back and talk to the prom committee now, see ya!"

    And with that, Principal Morte left the room. Spirit looked at the list for a few seconds, before handing it to Maka.

    "You guys better look this over," Spirit said, as Kim, Jackie and Patty picked up their bags.

    "We're going over to cheer practice," Kim said. "Kilik, Liz, can one of you two text us what's on the list?" she asked.

    "Sure," they both replied. Maka glanced down at the list. _No songs about sex, drugs, or alcohol, No songs mentioning nudity, Nothing overtly religious, This one's for Hiro especially: "Sexyback" is definitely not  acceptable (we went over this last year), No parody songs specifically making fun of anyone who works/is a student at this school or anywhere else, Please limit music genres to rock and/or pop only. Last but not least, have fun!_ Maka handed the list to Liz, who then read it aloud to everyone, before snapping a picture and texting it to her sister.

    "Okay, so this year the list is general banning with one specific song," Hiro reiterated, trying to give himself the authority he technically had but nobody really paid attention to.

    "They didn't say anything about what the DJ plays," Black☆Star said. A devious look struck his face, and he turned to look at Liz and Tsubaki. "You two wouldn't happen to know anyone on the prom committee, would you?"

    "There's a girl named Iris who looks weirdly like Patty," Liz replied. "She's also in the art club and did work on our car prop for the preliminary," she added. Black☆Star picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

    "I guess I'll have to pay her a visit," he said, walking out of the room. Spirit looked up from his phone and noticed Black☆Star on his way out. He then looked back down at his phone and continued doing whatever he was doing on it. Ragnarok then left without warning, walking out of the other door and in the opposite direction.

    "Fine, who needs all of them?" Hiro asked. "We can still practice without them, right?"

    "Practice'll start back up tomorrow," Spirit replied. "Just sit in a circle or do whatever until either the period ends or your parents can come pick you up, whichever comes first," he said. Maka pulled her phone out from her blazer pocket, an energy bar meant for Crona getting unintentionally knocked out in the process and hitting the floor. Maka picked it back up and contemplated giving it to Crona. She saw the look on their face, wide eyes almost transfixed to the energy bar. _How long have they gone without eating? It has to at least be all of today._ Crona pulled their hand back away from the bar.

    "I really shouldn't," they said. "I'll get in so much trouble if I even touch the thing..." they began, looking over at Tsubaki, who had her phone out and pointed at the exchange.

    "Are you filming us?" Maka asked, putting the energy bar back in her pocket.

    "No, I was playing Neko Atsume," Tsubaki replied, showing the two what was on her phone. A quaint little yard filled by tiny, simply-drawn cats playing with toys. There was even a not-so-tiny one lounging by a now-empty food dish. "Either of you have it?" she asked. Both of them shook their heads no.

    "Hey, Tsubaki, could you come with me for a second?" Liz asked, waving Tsubaki over, with her other hand mostly on her hip, the only thing not touching it being her thumb.

    "Coming!" Tsubaki replied, putting her phone back in her blazer pocket and exiting the choir room with Liz, the two of them exchanging flirtatious looks. Maka took out her phone and began messaging her mother to pick her up. After the message was sent, Maka put her phone back in her blazer pocket, waiting for a reply. She soon saw Spirit's eyes bug out in shock, as he looked over at Maka and Crona for some reason.

    "How long has this been going on?" Spirit asked, showing Maka his phone, which displayed the state finals picture from the local paper. Maka had been meaning to tell Spirit about her and Crona eventually, after the business with Medusa was settled, but she knew Spirit was going to see the picture that day eventually.

    "Just since New Year's," Maka replied. "Don't worry, we haven't done anything beyond a few closed-mouth kisses," she added. "Just three if you count the one in that picture."

    "I wish you didn't wait a month to tell me about this relationship, Maka," Spirit sighed. "At least they aren't gonna be able to get you pregnant or anything," he added, sounding a bit more relieved. "And Crona, if you do anything to hurt my daughter, you are definitely going to regret it, understand?"

    "I understand," Crona replied.

    "Come one Papa, you know they would never do something like that," Maka said, checking her phone again. Still no reply. _I guess Mama's on a case,_ she thought, as Spirit started delving into a very embarrassing "if you date my daughter" warning to Crona that lasted nearly ten whole minutes. Mostly just the same stuff he spouted off to Soul as a result of the rumors the year before, and Black☆Star once when he and Maka had just became friends, just with a few minor adjustments to acknowledge that Crona wasn't a boy by any means. Soul had left the choir room midway through it, leaving only eight people in the room. After he was done, Spirit shook Crona's hand, cracked an awful dad joke, and after seeing everyone's reaction to said joke, left in shame.

    "Disregard Papa's rules, he's not the one you're dating," Maka said to Crona. "I know you and I respect each other enough not to do anything awful to each other, so we're fine, ok?"

    "I know," Crona replied, holding on to Maka's hand.

 

    Maka's mother never answered the text before the period ended, so Maka took the bus home. _I guess Mama was just busy as usual,_ Maka thought, scanning the Gorgons' driveway to see if there were still child services' cars.

 

    There were none that day. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next. Until Saturday afternoon. Maka was sitting by her windowsill drinking hot chocolate when she saw the car pull up at the curb. Mifune and a black-haired woman holding a large plush bug stepped out of the car and knocked on the Gorgons' door. Maka set her hot chocolate down and put on her coat, stepping out in the cold early February air, her mother walking out behind her. They were the only two neighbors witnessing the scene, as Medusa walked out onto her front lawn, seeming irate.

    "What are you two doing back here?" she asked.

    "We showed the results of the investigation to our supervisors, and they find it best that your child is placed in department custody until..." Mifune began, before being cut off.

    "You are not taking away my child," Medusa said. "You and I both know it would be better if you didn't."

    "We have orders from our supervisors to seize them," the black-haired woman argued.

    "But Ms. Ponera, you said yourself that there was nothing wrong here," Medusa said to the black-haired woman. "Why are you going back on your word now?"

    "You had me believe Crona was mute and that they physically couldn't talk to me," Ponera replied. "It was only after I got back and found out where they were enrolled and what extracurricular they're taking that I realized you had lied."

    "Ms. Gorgon, we have a warrant," Mifune said, showing it to Medusa. Medusa looked at the warrant carefully, as Crona walked up to the door, peeking out at the scene. They looked over across the street and caught Maka's eye for a second before turning to look at Mifune and Ponera.

    "You guys are back," Crona said, sounding a bit surprised. Ponera looked like she was grumbling something under her breath.

    "Go back down to your room, Crona," Medusa said. "This doesn't concern you in the slightest."

    "Yes, ma'am," Crona said.

    "Pack your bags while you're at it, you're getting out of here!" Mifune called out, hoping Crona would hear as they went down the stairs. Since Crona had already went back into the house, Maka couldn't tell their reaction. Medusa then said something to Mifune and Ponera that was too quiet to fully understand from across the street.

    "Look, you were deemed an unfit parent," Ponera said. "And now your child's being taken away as a consequence."

    "Do not explain this to me like I'm a grade-schooler," Medusa hissed. "And I am not giving up Crona without a trial."

    "You'll get your trial soon enough, it's just your child is in such a state of neglect that they might just have to be given medical attention," Mifune said. Medusa gave him a skeptical look.

    "I can give it that attention, I have medical credentials," she said.

    "It says here you're employed as a... school nurse," Ponera replied.

    "That is still a legitimate medical profession," Medusa said, taking a few steps back towards her door. Her hand hovered over the doorknob, but before she could touch it, the door opened from the inside and Medusa grabbed a handful of air. There stood Crona, with a rolling suitcase in hand, and their school backpack on. Medusa turned her head to look at Crona, her expression unable to be viewed from Maka's vantage point across the street.

    "Looks like someone's already made their choice," Maka's mother remarked. "Did anything even happen with them beforehand? I've been out of touch with the neighbors for... actually, I've never really been that 'in touch' with any of them, ever," she added. _That's a bit troubling_ , Maka thought, looking back to across the street.

    "Tell your damn supervisor that my child isn't going anywhere, and that it's fine," Medusa said. Right at that very moment, Crona nearly collapsed against the door frame, catching themself in the nick of time. Maka prepared to run across the street to see if they were okay, but before she could, her mother grabbed her arm. Maka turned towards her mother, who shook her head no.

    "We'd just get in the way, Maka," she said, as Maka's eyes returned to the scene across the street.

    "It's fine, it's fine," Crona said, trying to reassure the two social workers. "I just haven't eaten in nearly a week, nor have I had water all day, and practice has been really hard at school." Medusa looked like she was going to blow a fuse upon hearing this. And so was Mifune, for a completely different reason.

    "WHY HAS YOUR CHILD NOT EATEN FOR SO LONG?" he yelled in Medusa's face, as Ponera walked back down to the car.

    "I don't know, I honestly thought it had been finishing up all its meals," Medusa replied, faking concern. "Don't tell me you've been throwing it all back up when you think I won't find out about it," she said to Crona. Mifune was not convinced.

    "So you're still going with the eating disorder bit?" he asked.

    "Teens get those kind of things all the time," Medusa replied. "It's really tragic, to think that my poor baby's been doing this to itself all this time, and through delusion thinks I've been the one doing this to it."

    "Look, we have to get them to a doctor, regardless of whether it's an eating disorder or neglect," Mifune said. "At how underweight they are, not eating for a whole week is far more dangerous than it is for a person normally."

    "I have a nursing degree, I know these things," Medusa replied, as Ponera returned with a water bottle, which she handed to Crona. "And I had no idea she was making herself waste away like this," Medusa continued.

    "Yeah, sure," Mifune said, as Crona took a few sips from the water bottle. "We have to take them to the emergency room, no question about it; and considering the testimonies from both Crona and one of your neighbors, as well as the evidence presented by an additional party, Crona's going to be placed elsewhere for the time being."

    "I understand you're upset, Ms. Gorgon, all the parents are when this part of the job happens," Ponera said. "But this right now is what's best for your child. As a mother, that's what you want, right?" she asked. Medusa furrowed her brow a bit, before her expression changed to a masterfully faked smile.

    "Once I'm inevitably ruled innocent, you'll see what a mistake you've made," Medusa replied in a passive-aggressive tone. Mifune began to support Crona as the two of them made their way down the front walk, Ponera trailing behind with Crona's luggage. Medusa watched them all leave without even giving Crona the satisfaction of a goodbye. She turned to face the two Albarns, who were still her only neighbors present for the scene, at least outside. Medusa turned her head left, then right, and crossed the street to their curb.

    "Was there a problem, Ms. Gorgon?" Maka's mother asked. _Mama, were you not here for the last eight months?_ _To be fair, I only knew since November, but wouldn't a mother have more intuition on these things?_

    "It's nothing that would concern your daughter," Medusa replied, looking down to Maka. "Go on, let the adults talk," she said with a condescending smile, ruffling Maka's bangs to taunt her.

    "I am not some ignorant kid," Maka said, fixing her bangs back into place. "I can handle being here to call out your bullshit."

    "I know you're very bright, but there are still some subjects you're too young to handle," Medusa replied.

    "Subjects Crona's apparently not too young to be living through!" Maka snapped. Maka's mother then grabbed her arm, squeezing it tightly. Maka winced a bit and stepped down.

    "Don't bring my child into this," Medusa said.

    "They seem to be what it's all about, though," Maka's mother added. "Is this something you'd need a lawyer for?" she asked. _No, Mama, don't._ Maka regretted keeping that to just a thought, as her mother handed Medusa a business card.

    "I'll think about it, Ms. Albarn," Medusa replied, noticing the horrified look on Maka's face. With that, Medusa walked back across the street to her own house, and Maka walked back with her mother into their living room. Maka saw her phone light up from the windowsill. The home phone then rang, and her mother picked it up. Figuring she would talk about what just happened and explain herself after the phone call, Maka went over to check her messages.

 

    "hey maka, you still coming to my big party tomorrow to celebrate our victory? parents are out of town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Black☆Star had sent her.

    "Yeah," Maka messaged back. "You will not BELIEVE what I just witnessed over here, by the way."

 


	22. Chapter 22

    "I'll pick you up sometime between eleven and midnight, okay?" Spirit asked, as Maka exited the passenger side of his car. It was just past nine, and the house party had gone on for nearly two hours.

    "Yeah, that sounds fine," Maka replied, giving him a quick wave goodbye and turning to face Black☆Star and Tsubaki's house. She could hear the bass from the music inside all the way from the curb, with the dancing silhouettes of more people than she thought Black☆Star and Tsubaki combined even knew decorating the windows. As her father's car pulled away, driving back out the road, she heard a loud collective yell of excitement coming from inside the house. "I've never been to a party this big before," Maka said to herself, ringing the doorbell. There was no answer for several minutes. She rang the doorbell again, but before she could finish doing that, Black☆Star flung open the door, a red Solo cup in hand, with some amber liquid inside it. _Is that apple juice?_

    "Heeeee _eeeeeeeeeeeeey_ , come on in!" Black☆Star exclaimed. _Oh my God, that is not apple juice._

    "Is that beer?" Maka asked. _Papa's going to kill me for being at a party with alcohol,_ she thought, looking around at a sea of people that ranged in age from high school freshmen to twenty-somethings as Black☆Star ushered her into the door. "Who are all these people?" Maka nearly had to yell in order to not be drowned out by the loud dance music and chattering people.

    "Yeah, it's beer," Black☆Star replied. "A buddy of Ragnarok's brought it, as well as the guy's entire fraternity and a sorority. Also like half the student body from Shibusen is here too, and I think I even saw Coach Blair. Refreshments are in the kitch... THIS IS MY FUCKING _JAM_!" Black☆Star yelled, as the song changed to a song that was definitely not his jam, much less one to that degree. Maka knew him well enough to know that. Black☆Star went off to the middle of the living room and disappeared into the crowd. Maka walked around, weaving her way through so many people that were bigger than her in order to find the kitchen. A few frantic shrieks pierced the room, sounding like they came from Tsubaki, who did not sound pleased at the fact that Black☆Star was apparently inebriated. Maka slipped into the kitchen, where she saw Soul drinking from another Solo cup, and Crona standing next to him looking like they were incredibly out of place. There was a small bandage on Crona's arm, likely from an IV. The kitchen was much quieter and less crowded, despite being where the food and beverages were.

    "Hey, Maka," Soul said, taking another sip from his drink.

    "I thought this party was just going to be Spartoi, what went wrong?" Crona asked, eating a few potato chips and getting crumbs on their shirt.

    "Your guess is as good as mine," Maka replied, wedging herself between the two. She took a quick glance at the contents of Soul's cup. _He's not drinking too, is he?_ "There are college kids here by the way," she said. "And that's why you have beer," she sneered at Soul.

    "You missed a frat boy hitting on Crona earlier," Soul said. "I had to pretend I was their boyfriend for a second to get his gross ass away."

    "And you didn't have to kiss me on the cheek back there," Crona grumbled. Maka glared at Soul, a twinge of jealousy entering her heart for a split second. _No wait, they have no real interest in each other. He only did it because he's tipsy._

    "Hey, he didn't seem convinced otherwise," Soul said, laughing. "Your face is surprisingly soft for a malnourished person."

    "Shut up," Crona replied, uncomfortably shaking a bit as they tried to finish their handful of chips. Maka got a cup and filled it with soda, even making sure it was soda.

    "How'd you even get here, anyway?" Soul asked Crona. "Maka texted me yesterday saying you were in child service custardy."

    "Child service custody," Crona corrected. "Ms. Ponera let me go here, she just dropped me off right from the hospital, and then she left to go answer an urgent report," they added, as Black☆Star came in, grabbed both Soul's hands, and started screaming with excitement. Soul tried to push him off, as Black☆Star starting going on about a fight, repeatedly chanting "Sizemore vs. Rung!" for about ten seconds straight.

    "Context!" Maka exclaimed.

    "A senior from the football team's fighting Kilik," Black☆Star said. "Freshman Kilik versus a senior, Clay Sizemore. He's getting his ass kicked by a freshman for talking shit about Fire and Thunder."

    "Damn," Maka said, as Black☆Star nearly dragged Soul out to the backyard, Maka and Crona following the two. There were already blows being exchanged among the fighters, and Clay Sizemore did not sound very sober. _Is everyone at this party drinking?_ Kilik threw a punch, hitting an already black-eyed Clay in the ribs. Another older kid with glasses and sidebangs started cheering his drunken buddy on to get him to fight back. Which he did, kicking Kilik in the kneecap and knocking him down. Despite landing on his butt, Kilik threw another punch, hitting Clay in the groin and causing him to sink down to the ground.

    "That's what you get!" Kilik shouted, walking over to a patio table, picking up what was presumably Clay's drink, and spilling it out into the dirt, before throwing the cup down and crushing it under his foot. "Yo, Black☆Star, got any ice for my knee?" he asked, as Clay's buddy walked over to see if he was okay.

    "Frozen peas in the freezer!" Black☆Star replied. "That was a fast fight," he added, as Clay got up and ran towards Kilik, who clocked him in the nose out of reflex. Blood began to gush from Clay's nose as he swung his fist back, hitting Kilik in the face and breaking his glasses. Kilik aimed a kick back at Clay, hitting him in the thigh. Clay reached to try to grab Kilik's shirt collar, but before he moved in, he heard the door open and paused.

    "Break it up!" Tsubaki wailed, running outside. Several people who witnessed the fight, Black☆Star included, booed her. "I swear to God, if I find out who brought beer into this party," Tsubaki grumbled, sounding absolutely livid. "Kilik, are you okay?" she asked, noticing he also had a bleeding nose.

    "Yeah, you should see the other guy," Kilik replied, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth as Tsubaki got out a few cotton balls from her pockets and gave them to both boys for their nosebleeds.

    "Come on inside for karaoke!" Liz shouted, peeking out a window.

    "I'll see you guys in a bit," Soul said to Maka, Crona, and Black☆Star, walking off towards the door. Tsubaki walked back in with a now partially-blinded Kilik as well.

    "You wanna join them inside?" Maka asked, seeing some of the sorority girls put out a cooler full of beer bottles, and Black☆Star run right over.

    "No, it's quieter out here," Crona replied. "I can still feel a pounding in my head," they added, sitting down on the ground and looking over at the covered pool, which already had a few Shibusen students trying to remove the cover. "Should we stop them?" Crona asked.

    "It's February, they'll learn their lesson," Maka said, sitting down next to Crona and putting an arm around them. Hiro seemed to be the leader of the cover removers, surprisingly, pulling it off with two others who then pushed him in the pool. The whole group of them laughed as Hiro landed in murky, cold water. He surfaced and screamed bloody murder as he began to climb out, his tormentors laughing as they walked away.

    "We have to cover that pool back up incase Ragnarok comes out here," Crona said. "I know he'll push me in, and he doesn't know that I can't swim," they added, as Maka put her arm down and the two got back up on their feet. They walked over to the pool and helped Hiro out the rest of the way. He thanked them, and tried to get some of the grime off his white shirt. He then walked over to the garden hose and started to hose himself down. Maka and Crona stood on opposite sides of the pool and put the cover back on, Hiro's squeals of discomfort at the cold temperature being the background noise.

    "I kinda want to try doing the karaoke together if there's not a line," Maka said, as Crona walked back around to where she stood.

    "That could be fun," Crona added, reaching out to hold Maka's hand as the two made their way back inside. The crowd was so thick, neither of them could tell whether or not there was a line, but judging by the music, the karaoke was either upstairs or down in the basement. Maka heard a faint round of applause sounding like it came from below them, and determined it was down in the basement. Still holding hands as to not lose each other in the crowd, Maka and Crona made their way to the basement stairwell and carefully walked down.

 

    The Nakatsukasas' basement floor was littered with empty cups, and Liz was tending a small bar for the thirty-ish people in the room. Soul and Patty were standing by the karaoke machine, trying to select a song to duet. Ox, Harvar, Kim, and Jackie were present, sitting together on a sofa, drinking cups full of what was hopefully nonalcoholic beverages. There did not seem to be any college students, just teens, which filled Maka with a sense of relief.

    "Is there a line for karaoke?" Crona asked Liz.

    "Nah, it's just whoever wants to, gets to," Liz replied. "You guys want any drinks? We got water, Coke, grape soda, orange soda, Sprite, and cheap beer. I'm not allowed to let anyone touch the wine coolers, since Tsubaki's parents have no idea this party is even happening and if even one of those is gone, let's just say she and Black☆Star are gonna be grounded until they both graduate."

    "I'll just have some water," Crona said.

    "Smart choice," Liz replied, getting out two bottled waters from a mini fridge. "Maka, you want one too?"

    "Yeah, thanks!" Maka said, accepting the bottle Liz handed her. Liz handed Crona theirs, and went back to wiping various food crumbs off the table. The opening instrumental for Evanescences's "Bring Me To Life" started playing, with Soul and Patty at the two mics. Maka began to take a sip from her water bottle. Soul began to sing the first verse in a horribly off-key falsetto, and Maka blew water out her nose trying not to laugh, unintentionally spraying it all over the bar. And by extension, Liz's arm.

    "Maka, are you okay?" Crona, who had clearly never seen anyone blow liquid out of their nose laughing, asked. Liz grumbled something, wiping the snot-laced water off her arm.

    "I'm fine, I'm fine," Maka replied, as Patty began her backing vocals for the chorus. "I have never seen Soul do a falsetto before, especially not this tipsy," Maka said. Patty's microphone made an awful squealing noise as she shouted "SAVE ME!" at a ridiculously high volume, causing everyone else in the room to cover their ears for a split second. Maka sat down on one of the bar stools, keeping her water in her hands, but not wanting another drink from it until Soul and Patty were done with their duet. Crona sat down at the stool next to her and starting munching on pretzels from a communal bowl. Maka took a handful as well. _This party's actually pretty fun so far._ Soul and Patty kept on singing progressively louder, drowning out the crunching sound of Maka and Crona eating their pretzels.

    "So what kind of song should we do?" Crona asked between bites.

    "Maybe a love song," Maka replied, noticing Crona get a bit flustered. "Or we could see if there's some more edgy stuff to keep this theme going," she added.

    "Edgy love song," Liz interrupted. Maka gave her a strange look. "What, aren't you guys fifteen now or something? That's still an edge phase age," she said, as Soul and Patty finished up their duet. "Better get there quick, Ox and Jackie just got up from the sofa."

    "No, I'm going up next!" Ox snapped at Jackie, as Maka and Crona walked over to the karaoke machine. "What? Oh, come on," Ox said, sitting back down.

    "We'll pick something for you guys," Soul said, he and Patty giggling like idiots. Maka pushed through them and walked over to the song selection.

    "I don't think so," she said, looking at the library. "What songs do you know?" she asked Crona. They shrugged their shoulders, as Patty handed them her mic.

    " _Hips Don't Lie_!" a not very sober-sounding Kim suggested.

    "It's not on here," Maka called out to her, taking the mic from Soul and looking through the selection more. _This thing doesn't have anything more recent than 2011 on it._ Soul picked a song from the list. "What did you pick?" Maka sighed, as the beginning instrumental for Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" started playing. _Why, Soul?_ Maka thought, as Crona walked over to look at the tiny screen showing the lyrics, as they were not too familiar with them. Maka led in with the first verse, trying her best to emulate the passion in her voice from State. There were already a few kids who were impressed.

    "Yeah, go Maka!" Jackie called out. Maka gave her a big grin as she continued singing. She heard Crona's soft voice in the background as she started the chorus, and they started getting a bit louder as they went. Maka turned her head to look at them during the second half of the chorus, and saw how they weren't looking up towards the small crowd, just looking at the lyrics on the tiny screen, and using Maka's vocals as a guide for the tune.

    "Second verse?" Maka whispered, covering the microphone with her hand.

    "I'll try my best," Crona whispered back, as Maka stepped back to give them center stage. Crona still looked down at the lyric screen instead of the crowd, not putting nearly as much energy into their voice as Maka was. But they still sounded like they were enjoying themself, even as their voice strained a bit to hit the higher notes. Maka joined back in on the second bridge, hoping her timing was still okay. The song was not originally meant to be a duet, so she was a bit nervous about timing in some spots. But they both worked it out, smoothing out each other's mistakes in duet timing, and carried through the whole song as well as they could. Once the music stopped, there was a burst of applause from the other partygoers, and Soul ran back up between where Crona and Maka were standing, and grabbed both their hands.

    "This girl right here," he started, "is one third of our state final win and one of my goddamned best friends!" he explained, holding up Maka's arm above his head. "And let's not forget this huge dork she's dating!" Soul added, holding up Crona's arm as well for a bit, before letting go of both his friends' hands. "How about an encore?"

    "I'm good, thank you," Crona replied, walking back over to the bar. "Nobody did anything to my water, right?" they asked. Liz shook her head no, and pushed Maka's water bottle over to Crona.

    "That's my w... and they already drank out of it," Maka sighed, walking back over to the bar. She took the water bottle that was originally Crona's and took a sip. _It doesn't taste any different from mine,_ she thought, as Ox stepped up to the karaoke, pushing Jackie out of the way.

    "Do you do that because it's the only way you get solos?" Patty asked, walking back over to the bar.

    "Shut your bloody mouth!" Ox shouted, selecting a very melancholy song about being on the receiving end of a breakup. Kim grumbled something about not being able to stand this, and went back up the stairs right as Tsubaki walked down.

    "How's everyone doing?" she asked. "And have any of you seen Black☆Star?"

    "He hasn't come down here," Liz replied. "I actually don't think I've even seen him yet tonight," she added.

    "Last I saw of him, he was outside helping some college girls set up more beer," Maka said. Tsubaki's eyes widened.

    "Shit," she groaned. "Just what I need tonight, more alcohol on the premises."

    "Killjoy!" a black-haired boy with sharp eyes exclaimed.

    "Shinra, I'm sorry if I don't want anyone to get arrested for passing out beer in a party where I'd wager at least eighty percent of us are below drinking age," Tsubaki replied. "Anyone wanna help me look for Black☆Star?" she asked.

    "I'll go!" Maka replied, getting up from the stool.

    "Me too," Crona added, joining her.

 

    The three of them walked back up the stairs and went outside to find not a blue hair in sight, just the backyard illuminated by strings of party lights and populated by college-age students. Crona flinched upon sight of Ragnarok crushing a beer can against his forehead, before he began to down another can.

    "We have to get back inside _now_ ," they said, grabbing Maka's arm and looking frantically to Ragnarok and back at her. Maka and Tsubaki gave nods of silent approval and walked back into the foyer.

    "One of you hoist me up on on your shoulders," Maka said. "Better vantage point," she added. Tsubaki picked up Maka and hoisted her up. Now 'taller' than the rest of the crowd, Maka scanned around to possibly catch sight of Black☆Star. But it proved to be of no use, as he was not in the foyer. They searched the entire ground floor to no avail, soon walking up the stairs to where the bedrooms were.

    "I can kill two birds with one stone here," Tsubaki said. "I can possibly find Black☆Star, and I'll get to see if anyone's making out in my room and stop them before it gets too far."

    "Searching for Black☆Star's been kinda fun," Maka added, as Tsubaki opened the door to her room, and Crona opened the door to Masamune's former room. Maka walked over to Black☆Star's door to find it was cracked. She peeked through the door to see Black☆Star and Kilik sitting next to each other on the former's bed.

    "That was so fucking badass out there," Black☆Star said, inching over to the point where he was practically leaning against Kilik.

    "I did what I had to do, you know what he said about Fire and Thunder," Kilik replied. "Sizemore should've known what was coming to him."

    "Hey, you remember what I said to you that night at State?" Black☆Star asked. "You gonna give me my answer or what?" he added, playfully punching Kilik in the arm. Kilik got out a piece of paper and a pen.

    "I'll tell you now, and I'll write it down incase you can't remember once you've sobered up," Kilik replied, using his knee as a makeshift clipboard. He squinted at the paper a bit as he wrote due to not having any backup glasses or contacts with him. Black☆Star peeked over his shoulder and gasped with delight. "Hey, you weren't supposed to look at it before I got done!" Kilik said, as Black☆Star broke out into a huge grin.

    "Hell yeah!" Black☆Star exclaimed, throwing his arms around Kilik in a near-crushing hug. He then let go of him and set the paper on his nightstand. "I have a boyfriend now!" Black☆Star said in a singsong voice.

    "What?" Tsubaki asked, opening the door the rest of the way. "Congratulations, you two," she said with a smile.

    "Have you been spying on us?" Black☆Star asked, looking at Maka and Tsubaki standing in the doorway, as well as Crona walking over behind Maka to see what all the fuss was about. "Eh, we weren't doing anything embarrassing," he said.

    "In the hotel room at State, he told me he had feelings for me for a while, and he only realized it over winter break," Kilik explained. "He also said he was keeping it a secret because..."

    "I wanted you to be the first to know," Black☆Star said to Kilik. "Come on, let's go break it to the karaoke-goers," he added, grabbing Kilik's hand and running out of the room with him.

    "Wait! You guys..." Tsubaki called out after the two, following them back down the stairs. Maka watched as the three of them went down the stairs, a smile forming on her face.

    "I'm happy for them," she said to nobody in particular. "Wanna go back down to karaoke?" she asked Crona.

    "Sure," Crona replied. "It'll certainly be a lot livelier with Black☆Star there," they added, leading the way back down the stairs. The two of them passed by a closet they thought to be unassuming on their way back down to the basement level, until its door creaked the rest of the way open, and Maka felt a hand grab the back of her shirt collar. She felt the seams of her sleeves press against her armpits as she was lifted off the ground a few inches, to the point where her feet were no longer able to touch the ground. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to try and see who had just done this, to no avail.

    "Agh!" she gasped for a second, moving her head to see an absolutely livid Ragnarok. "Oh, shit," Maka said. Crona immediately turned back around, their eyes widening in shock.

    "Maka!" they shouted. "Let her down, Ragnarok, I'm sure it's me you want."

    "Not this time," Ragnarok slurred in reply. "Maka Albarn, you and I are taking this outside right now," he said, before turning to Crona. "Don't come with us unless you want to see your girlfriend beaten to a pulp."

 

    As Ragnarok carried her outside by the collar of her shirt and Crona, trying to follow him, got absorbed into the crowd, Maka felt nothing but fear. _What's he going to do to me?_ she thought, as she was thrown to the cold, hard ground. She got back to her feet. _Do I run? No, if I do that, he'll just take it out on Crona._ Maka's breathing became more rapid and shallow, and she balled her hands into fists. _I've never fought a drunk person before, especially not one so much bigger than me, but I'll hold my ground for as long as I can._

    "All this time you were right!" Ragnarok yelled. "How come a dumbass baby like you didn't fall for that damn snake's lies?"

    "Dumbass?" Maka asked. "Says someone who's been held back!" Right as she said that, Ragnarok punched her in the face. It hurt like hell, and blood started to come out of the center of her lower lip. Maka immediately regretted saying that. Her nerves heightened.

    "You're just some ugly, obnoxious piece of shit who'll trust, trust everything they tell you, won't you?" Ragnarok asked as Maka starting wiping off blood from her lip.

    "They came to me in their time of need, nothing more!" Maka snapped back, throwing a punch of her own. She hit her mark, and disoriented her opponent for a second.

    "Why you, huh?" Ragnarok asked, trying to hit Maka again, but this time she dodged it in a burst to a safer distance. "Why out of everyone, you?"

    "I don't know, because they trusted me?" Maka asked in return, readying herself for another possible attack.

    "You're saying they don't trust me?" Ragnarok threw a punch as he said this, and Maka blocked it with her right arm. The point of impact stung like it was surely going to bruise later, but Maka wasn't worried about it in the slightest right now. A bruise on the arm can be hidden with long sleeves, and she'd like for that to be the last injury she suffered tonight. Maka focused all her energy on defending herself, since she figured he'd give up eventually.. Blocking punch after punch with her arms, she winced at the pain from the impacts. It hurt, but she could take it.

    "So you think they don't trust me, huh?" Ragnarok asked, throwing yet another punch towards the same easily-blockable area. "Is that what this silence means? You think you're so right, don't you?"

    "I don't know whether or not they fully trust you!" Maka exclaimed in reply, as Ragnarok grabbed her by the right wrist in a crushing grip, lifting her a few inches up off the ground. Maka kicked her legs back and forth in the air, hitting Ragnarok in the shins a few times to try and get him to drop her. Her wrist felt like it was going to grow limp, as she stretched out her right hand just to hope it wouldn't. Ragnarok raised his fist, and flung it into Maka's left arm, which came up in a perfectly-timed block. "They probably do trust you at least a little bit," Maka said, feeling like she was spitting out a white lie. Ragnarok then grabbed Maka's other wrist and kneed her in the stomach with such force she felt like she was going to puke. He then threw her back onto the cold hard ground. Maka tried her best to get up, but Ragnarok stomped down on her chest with his

left foot to restrain her. Maka grabbed his ankle with both hands, and tried to force him off of her. He stumbled a bit before pressing his foot down harder.

    "Jusht a little bit?" Ragnarok shouted in her face.

    "I can't read minds, Ragnarok!" Maka replied. He yanked his left foot out of its boot and kicked her in the side. Maka threw the boot aside and started to get up. _Please go off to get it, please go off to get it,_ she thought, hobbling up to her feet. Ragnarok immediately punched her in the face again, much harder than the last time. Maka really felt it in her nose this time, with warm blood leaking its way down out her nostrils and over her lips. Maka could feel her vision getting blurry for a second as Ragnarok landed another hit to her face. _Why is he only aiming towards my face?_ Another hit sailed in, and another. Maka started to feel a numbness in her right cheek, as Ragnarok grabbed her arm and pushed her down to the ground. She hit the ground right wrist first, as it bent back at an awful angle. All she could see as she looked up was Ragnarok's face, and behind it Black☆Star and Tsubaki's house; with its flickering lights, dancing silhouettes, and a back door that was creaking open. _Someone's coming out._ Ragnarok started to kick Maka in the chest with the only foot that he still had a boot on. She balled her hands into fists and turned back to try and grab his leg.

    "Don't you fucking dare hurt her!" an androgynously-pitched voice let out in a harsh yell. _Crona, is that you?_ Maka thought, as she looked up to where the door had creaked open. The back door slammed shut, and an out-of-focus figure bounded across the backyard until it was clear from how close they were that it was definitely Crona, who looked at Maka's bloodied face in horror. "Don't lay another finger on her or you'll definitely regret it," they said, giving Maka enough of an opening to get back on her feet.

    "You... you think you're fucking threatening?" Ragnarok asked. Together, we'll definitely be able to take him down, Maka thought, wiping blood away from her nose and mouth, but it just kept flowing right back out. Maka flicked the blood from her hand onto the ground, and raised her already sore arms to ready herself for any opportunity to defend herself and/or Crona.

    "You're nothing but a... nothing but some skinny little thing that can't even be loved by its own mother!" Ragnarok shouted at Crona, who faltered a bit upon hearing this. _Now you've crossed the line,_ Maka thought, jumping up to try and punch him in the face. Her fist grazed him a bit before she landed back on her feet.

    "That's not true anymore, there's people who I know love me," Crona said, running up to join the fight. Being half a foot taller than Maka, they could reach above Ragnarok's shoulder, giving them an advantage. But they seemed wary of hitting that high, instead aiming for the chest. Ragnarok elbowed Crona in the shoulder, and grabbed Maka by the arm, hurling her towards the patio furniture. Maka clattered into the table and chairs, her head hitting the table's edge. The impact knocked a chair over into a cooler, ice and beer bottles spilling out onto the ground. Dazed, Maka felt a horrible throbbing in the back of her head as she stirred. She opened her eyes and tried to see if her vision was still working properly, seeing the out-of-focus figures of Crona and Ragnarok. Ragnarok delivered an uppercut to Crona's jaw, and pushed them into the ground. He

pinned them down with one hand, and with the other one, started punching them in the head and face repeatedly. Maka's heart and stomach sank so low it felt like they were going to drop right out of their body. She looked at the chair and spilled cooler, hoping to find a weapon in her immediate vicinity. Physically, she was too small to get him off them easily, and if she did, she could become overpowered and end up in the exact position Crona was in. _The chair! No, with my wrist like this, I could aim wrong and injure Crona. Better go with one of the bottles._ She picked up an undamaged beer bottle and a few ice cubes, and ran back over to the scene. She threw an ice cube at Ragnarok, and it bounced off his cheek. He turned to look at Maka, pausing his attacks momentarily. Crona immediately kneed him in the stomach and tried to escape. Ragnarok used his free hand to try and keep holding them down, but he was interrupted by Maka kicking him in the face.

    "What are you doing, you bit-" Ragnarok started, beginning to stand up before being hit over the head with the beer bottle, just like in the movies. The bottle shattered and he went down. _That actually worked!_ Maka sank down to her knees, feeling like she was going to pass out. She laid down on her back and waited a full twenty seconds to see if she was going to lose consciousness. But she didn't. And Ragnarok didn't move. Crona just laid there, their breathing visible but being drowned out by the muffled music from the house. _I just knocked a guy out, didn't I? At least Crona's still conscious. I think._

    "Thought you were gonna pass out too?" Crona asked, turning their bloodied face to look at Maka. Both their nose and mouth were bleeding, and there was also some blood coming down from the left side of their forehead. One of their eyes and their nose were swollen and bruised, their nose especially looking broken. _They got hurt like this for my sake, despite just yesterday they were on an IV in the hospital, weak from malnourishment. Shit, they are not gonna be okay after this, are they?_

    "Yeah," Maka replied, faintly seeing the door open, and Kidd carrying a keg out into the yard and emptying it out onto a dry patch of dirt.

    "Damn it, why couldn't I enjoy myself tonight?" Kidd asked, looking over his shoulder at where Maka, Crona, and Ragnarok lay. He screamed in horror and left the emptying keg aside, dashing over. "We have to get you guys cleaned up right now, wait, Crona, I thought you were in child services custody and couldn't come."

    "Strange how things work out," Crona noted, as Kidd helped them and Maka back up to their feet. Maka stumbled, and Kidd put an arm around her for support. "Should we really leave Ragnarok?" Crona asked.

    "There's no broken glass stuck in him, so he'll be fine," Maka replied. _As fine as someone who got freshly knocked out can be._ Crona grabbed onto Maka's free hand and followed close by as Kidd walked her back inside to the bathroom. Maka was hoisted up to where she could sit on the bathroom counter, and Crona leaned back against the same counter, resting their elbows on it. Stricken with worry, Kidd got out a first aid kit and some washcloths from the drawer. He immediately started dabbing off the blood from the side of Crona's forehead. Maka starting stuffing tissue up her nose to prevent any more bleeding. She felt like she was going to vomit, but held it in.

    "Kidd, just go and see if Ragnarok needs an ambulance or something," Crona protested. Kidd got out his phone and started texting someone with one hand. "He's unconscious, that won't do anything."

    "I'm texting Hiro," Kidd clarified, wiping off more blood from Crona's face. "As far as I know, he's not wasted like so many others at this freaking party."

    "Kidd, I saw you emptying a keg, are you helping Tsubaki patrol?" Maka asked, handing Crona the tissues, then blotting off her own face with another washcloth.

    "That's all I've been doing tonight," Kidd replied, still meticulously wiping off blood. _By the time he gets to my face, it'll be sunrise,_ Maka thought, turning to the mirror and quickly wiping off the rest of her excess blood, leaving only the raw wounds, which she began covering with bandaids, gauze, and the tape from Kidd's first aid kit. "Never mind, Hiro went home," Kidd said.

    "I can finish cleaning Crona's face off," Maka said, sticking a bandage over the last scrape. "Just check and see if Ragnarok's not fucking dead, it's what a good party patrol guy would do."

    Kidd hesitated for a bit, before walking back out the door. Maka finished wiping up the blood from Crona's face, noticing how the harsh bathroom lighting really emphasized their wounds. She got out some more bandages from the first aid kit and put them over the scrape on their forehead.

    "How does it look?" Crona asked. Maka winced, sucking air through her teeth. Crona turned to look at their reflection. "Damn, I look awful. I can't believe I have to go right back to the social services after this. But I don't really regret it, since you're... well, not okay but at least you're alive," they added. Maka nodded in agreement, right when a girl whose black hair was tied in pigtails walked up to the bathroom door, flanked by a blonde and a brunette.

    "You two are Maka and Crona, right?" the pigtailed girl asked. "Both your rides are here," she said.

    "Thanks," Maka said, getting down from the counter. She and Crona walked down to the basement to say goodbye to their friends, before they went back out to the front lawn and an instantly shocked and worried Spirit and Ponera. In Ponera's car was a little girl with dark skin and curly hair, and a bandaged gash on her face. _That must've been the kid that woman left to go save. I hope she's gonna be okay_ , Maka thought, giving Crona a long hug goodbye before walking back to Spirit's car. Maka's chest still hurt from the fight, but it was not so painful that she was unable to take it.

    "What happened to you?" he asked.

    "I'll tell you as we're going back to your house." Maka replied, buckling up.

    "No, you look like you're in pain, we're going to the emergency room," Spirit said, looking at Maka's no longer bloody, but visibly beaten face.

 

    Maka returned to school the next day with bandages still on her face and a massive headache. She found out in the emergency room that not only did she suffer from a mild concussion, but her ribs and arms had been bruised (but thankfully not too badly), and as such, Spirit wasn't going to let her participate in practice until she healed up. Ascending up the stairs and feeling people's stares, Maka entered the front door and walked over to the freshman locker halls. Standing in the same halls were Kilik and Crona, both of them still with bandages on their faces as well. Crona even had a black eye, poorly concealed with makeup that didn't quite match their pale, sickly-looking skin.

    "And the trio's all here," Kilik said, looking at Maka. "You look pretty rough," he added with a sympathetic smile.

    "Hey, consider yourself lucky," Maka replied. "You didn't have to go to the emergency room like the two of us."

    "I waited nearly two hours just for them to tell me that there isn't much they can do for a broken nose but splint it," Crona said. "But I already know that, it's been broken twice before," they added.

    "If only I had known you two were being beaten up, then I'd have..." Kilik began.

    "There you are, my child," Medusa unintentionally interrupted with, a box full of personal items from her office in her hands. Crona took a few steps back in caution. "Thanks to you, I got fired," Medusa said, her face glowering with contempt.

    "I'm really sorry," Crona replied. The apology sounded barren, more like a conditioned response than anything.

    "You don't have to apologize to that lowlife," Kilik said, his hands balling into fists.

    "I don't think I'll be able to work at Shibusen ever again, but I'll soon be able to get you back," Medusa said to Crona. "The trial starts at the end of the month, and I know for a fact I'll be ruled innocent since I have the best lawyer in town on my side, and all evidence against me is just your word. Miss Albarn, I'm sure you'd like her business card." Medusa handed Maka a business card and walked off. Maka looked at the picture of a very familiar woman and law firm. Albarn Law. The card had a picture of Maka's mother and a few of her associates. Which were all male, so when Medusa said "her", she could only have been referring to one lawyer. _Mama's representing Medusa in the court case. Why? Why would she do that? Why would she possibly represent a child abuser? I'm sure Ms. Gorgon just took advantage of Mama's lack of knowledge_

_about the situation, no wait, I thought Mama had a will of steel and could not be manipulated. I'm sure she was just appointed and it's out of her control. Wait, it hasn't got to that point yet, the trial hasn't even begun. Does that mean she willingly... no. No. NO._


	23. Chapter 23

    Sunday and Monday only seemed to be the setup for yet another one of "those weeks". After confronting her mother, Maka ended up learning nothing, since her mother wanted to protect her client's privacy. And starting Tuesday, Ragnarok stopped showing up to practice due to being not only kicked off the team, but suspended for nearly two months since his actions over the weekend sent two people to the emergency room. His suspension and permanent barring from Spartoi felt like good news for Maka and especially Crona, who now no longer had anyone threatening them at school. Seeing them so peaceful and happy put Maka at ease, at least until she thought about her mother possibly fighting to end that new peace. She tried to block those thoughts out, forcing herself to think it wasn't true. After all, her mother was an infallible pursuer of justice, not just some lawyer who'll take whatever case just for the money, right? Physically, Maka soon felt okay enough to go back to actually participating in practice, but Spirit still was telling her and Crona to wait it out until the end of the week, even when it was already Thursday, and not only was her headache pretty much gone, Maka's bruises were beginning to fade.

    "Maka, you have mildly bruised ribs and you might still be a bit concussed," Spirit reminded her. "I can't let anyone from my team, especially not you, overexert themselves when they're healing."

    "But I'm feeling fine," Maka said. "Black☆Star, give me a big hug to prove it."

    "It'll hurt like hell where you were bruised, so I'll have to take a rain check on that hug," Black☆Star replied. The choir room door opened, and there arrived Dr. Stein. He ducked under the top of the door frame and held up an envelope.

    "This is from the courthouse. Spirit, I'm screwed," Dr. Stein said, trying to stay calm. "What the hell did I do?" he asked.

    "Open it and find out!" Patty shouted. Dr. Stein opened the letter and glanced over the first few lines.

    "Oh thank God, it's just jury duty," Dr. Stein said. "I'm apparently selected to be serving in the case of _Medusa Gorgon vs. Death City Child Protective Services_ ," he added. "Well then. Crona, you've got at least one juror that's guaranteed to be on your side. Even if I didn't know you, I still dislike Medusa, so..."

    "Is it known that you're biased?" Kidd asked. "I don't want you kicked off."

    "Hey, I'll just fake being unbiased until they start presenting facts," Dr. Stein replied. "I've really wanted to be on jury duty for a while now; there are plenty of restaurants and food trucks by the courthouse so I can finally eat a lunch that isn't instant noodles or a microwave meal. So what've you guys got so far for Nationals?"

    "It's still pretty ill-defined at this point, but we have the first few lines of 'Footloose' blocked out," Spirit said. "Hiro, Jackie, Kim, Black☆Star, Kidd, why don't you show him your bit?" he asked. The five of them stood in a staggered formation, Hiro, Black☆Star, and Kidd in the front row, with Kim and Jackie in the back.

    "Been workin', so hard," Black☆Star, Kim, and Jackie began to sing, "I'm punchin' my car, " they added, punching out to the side, Black☆Star's fist hitting Kidd in the jaw completely by accident.

    "Oh my God," Liz said, watching Kidd poke at his face for any blood.

    "You better be glad I'm not bleeding," Kidd snapped at Black☆Star.

    "Yeah, cause your dad still hasn't gotten this place an interim nurse, right?" Black☆Star replied.

    "As of next week, Ms. Nygus is going to hold the spot, with Coach Barrett being temporarily promoted to gym teacher since your football team lost State," Kidd said.

    "It was because Ragnarok and some other guy were going off strategy and overtaking my plays! If they had just let _me_ , this school's biggest star in eons, go off strategy and take over for the team, we would have won State, and moved on to a possible national title, which the Reapers haven't even played at in five years!"

    "As you can see, we're still at a very rough stage in our choreography," Spirit said to Dr. Stein, holding his hand out to Maka for a high five for his joke that she did not reciprocate. "Okay, bring it back from the top, this time punching up to the air instead of off to the side." So far, Thursday seemed to be the worst start the team had for the week. Maka silently hoped that Friday wouldn't top it.

    Well, maybe Friday wouldn't top it at practice, but considering Ox was running considerably late to lunch that day and it was the last school day before Valentine's, there was a possibility it'd happen at some point.

    "Okay, I think my stomach can finally handle a full portion," Crona said, poking at Friday's lunch, stuffed ravioli, with a fork. "Just in time too," they added, taking a bite. "Tonight I'm going to move in with a new foster mother."

    "That's great news!" Maka and several others at the Spartoi table exclaimed along with similar statements. Maka took a bite of her steaming ravioli. _I'm so glad they've found someone to take them in so quickly._

    "Who's it going to be?" Tsubaki asked.

    "Miss Mjolnir," Crona replied.

    "I figured it had to be someone we knew," Harvar said. "Nobody else could have made the decision to take you in so quickly," he added.

    "Do you need any help moving your stuff in?" Maka asked, hearing hoofbeats across the tile floor. _Wait, that sounds like a horse,_ she thought. The vibrations were throbbing a bit in her head as she looked up from her lunch to see Ox riding in on a white horse in full tuxedo. Both him and the horse. Ox approached Spartoi's lunch table with a rose stripped of its thorns between his teeth, which he then promptly removed from his mouth and held in his hand.

    "I see you're already enamored by my romantic gesture, Kim," Ox said, looking upon everyone's bewildered expressions. Black☆Star pulled out his phone, took a picture of Ox up on the horse, and laughed along with Patty about it. Ox tried to ignore this.

    "Did you ride that horse all the way to the cafeteria?" Kim asked, clearly not enamored in the slightest. "There aren't even horses on the property, where did you get it in the first place?"

    "Kim, every night I've spent alone, thinking of our lost love..." Ox began, completely glossing over her questions.

    "Oh Lord," Kim groaned.

    "...I have spent in agony. One this eve of the eve of the day of St. Valentine, I must ask for your love once again." Ox continued. The horse bowed down its head, sniffed around a bit, and started eating Crona's ravioli.

    "Of course this would happen," Crona sighed, trying to pull what was left of their plate of ravioli away from the horse.

    "What we had was special, Kim, and I am desperately clinging to every last hope that you'd take me back," Ox concluded his speech with, holding out the rose for Kim. "If you accept this rose, then you will accept my unbridled and eternal love for you and only you, until the end of time."

    "Desperate is definitely the right word to describe you with!" Kim yelled, pushing the rose away. Jackie cracked a subtle smile. Ox sat there in silence for a second, glancing over at Harvar, who just shook his head in shame. Ox held out the rose for a bit longer, as the horse looked up, and he slipped the rose in its bridle. The horse went right back to trying to eat the last bit of Crona's ravioli.

    "Ox Ford, what the hell are you doing?" a booming voice yelled. Nearly the entire table's occupants looked over to the cafeteria door, where Coach Barrett was arriving through on his way to where Ox sat. "A live horse in the cafeteria, and you're out of uniform?"

    "I can explain, Coach Barrett," Ox frantically pleaded. "You see, I wanted to throw this huge romantic gesture so my ex would take me back-"

    "I don't care," Coach Barrett replied. "My office. Now. And take that horse outside or something so it doesn't ruin any more students' lunches." With a heavy sigh, Ox rode back out of the cafeteria, Coach Barrett following close behind. The remaining Spartoi members looked amongst themselves, all of them seeming like they were thinking the same thing.

    "I cannot believe he just did that," Maka said, stabbing another piece of ravioli with her fork.

    "I can," Kim said. "This isn't even the most extravagant thing he did, too. You weren't there for the homecoming incident two years ago, so you wouldn't know. It involved fireworks, the entire marching band, and not one horse, but twenty."

    "It's up on YouTube," Harvar added, as Crona got up to throw away what little tainted ravioli was left on their plate, "just search 'Ox Ford homecoming grandeur' and you'll get a half hour video with Ox in a fedora as the thumbnail. It's the most embarrassing thing he ever made me film."

    "Gotcha, I'll look it up once I get home," Maka said, setting what was left of her ravioli at Crona's place setting.

    "So since it's nearly Valentine's Day," Kilik brought up, changing the subject. "Anyone wanna go on a double date with Black☆Star and I?" he asked, right when Crona came back.

    "We would, but I have to get settled in this weekend," Crona said. "Oh, is this for me?" they asked, looking at Maka's leftover ravioli.

    "Yeah, it's all yours," Maka replied.

    "Hold up, man, who said we were going to double date with someone?" Black☆Star asked. "It's our first Valentine's Day together, I definitely wanna spend it with just us."

    "Tsubaki and I aren't gonna do anything fancy, just dinner and a romantic movie," Liz said. "What are you and Crona doing?" she asked Maka. Maka froze up. _I've been so caught up with everything else going on lately that I forgot about plans for Valentine's Day._

    "I'll probably just go see them at their new place once they get settled in, and we'll hang out over there," Maka said.

    "Something nice and simple, that suits you two perfectly," Soul said, eating more of his ravioli. Maka just ignored him, and started drinking her water, as Liz started asking everyone else what they were doing on Valentine's Day. Apparently, Patty was throwing a singles' party for Spartoi members only at her house, and most of the single people were enthusiastic on going, except for Jackie. Chatter about this continued until everyone finished eating, and got up from the table to go get their stuff for their next classes. Maka walked back with the other freshmen to do the usual; get everything out of their lockers and split up for their respective classes. On her way to fourth period's class, she heard Kim and Jackie talking by a set of stairs. Maka didn't stick by them for too long, having no time or desire to, but she had a feeling the part she heard might have been the most important bit.

   "Kim, do you want to go out together this Valentine's Day?"

   "Sure, Jackie. It's a date. And no, this time I'm not joke-flirting with you."

     _I guess that's why Jackie didn't want to go to Patty's singles' party,_ Maka thought, walking the rest of the way to class.

 

    Maka sat in the passenger seat of her mother's car the evening before Valentine's, looking out on her side for Miss Mjolnir's house. She had been there once before with her father a little over a year ago, but this was the first time she was staying overnight. And also the first time she was going to be alone with Crona for such an extended period of time since they made it official that they were together.

    "Mama, it's right up here," Maka said.

    "I see it," her mother grumbled, pulling up at the curb, right by a mailbox labelled Mjolnir in an elaborate cursive font. Maka's mother turned off the car. She unlocked the doors, and stepped out with Maka onto the driveway. Miss Mjolnir had a more modest house in an upper middle class neighborhood, two stories with a white picket fence and a gray-shingled roof. It was a lovely little place, giving off the warm and cozy air of a family-friendly home. Maka rang the doorbell, which made a cheerful chime. She heard Miss Mjolnir call out "Coming!" in a singsong voice, and footsteps rush toward the door. She opened the door, giving Maka a warm smile. Maka could hear the faint sound of a shower going in the background.

    "Hi, Maka," Miss Mjolnir said. "Come on in," she added, her eyes trailing up a few inches to the eye level of Maka's mother. "And you are?"

    "I'm Maka's mother, please call me Ms. Albarn," Maka's mother said. Maka wiped her feet on the doormat, and walked into the entryway. The house smelled really pleasant, with the fading scent of spaghetti and meatballs. Dinner must not have been too long ago.

    "So you're the lawyer who's defending Medusa," Miss Mjolnir said. "Get out of my house."

    "Excuse me?" Maka's mother asked. "I bring my daughter here tonight instead of her father's and this is the attitude I get from the hostess?"

    "I am not going to have you spy on Crona and report what you find to their mother so you can use it for her defense," Miss Mjolnir replied.

    "Look, I know I did take on a client at about the time the trial was announced, but I cannot reveal the client's identity out of a request for said client's privacy to be kept," Maka's mother said. "So no, I am not going to claim myself as or not as Medusa Gorgon's lawyer, and I certainly am not going to spy on your foster kid. In fact, I was just going to drop Maka off and leave, but at least come to the door to see what's up unlike her idiot father, who dropped her off at a party without seeing what was going on over there and Maka ended up with bruised ribs and had to go to the emergency room. So excuse me for trying to be a good parent."

    "Okay," Miss Mjolnir replied, throwing up her hands a bit. "Excuse me for being protective of a child under my care who desperately needs to have full and permanent legal separation from their abusive mother."

    "You are excused," Maka's mother bitterly replied, walking back out the door. "Your father's picking you up tomorrow, not me," she told Maka, closing the door behind her. There was an awkward silence, lasting for several seconds.

    "Well you two certainly left an impression with each other," Maka said.

    "Crona told me about the business card," Miss Mjolnir replied."In hindsight, that might have not been the best way to confront your mother about it."

    "Yeah," Maka agreed, taking her shoes off and setting them by the front door. "So how have you been doing?" she asked, walking with Miss Mjolnir over to the living room and sitting with her on the sofa.

    "Things have been good," Miss Mjolnir replied. "I learned a new spaghetti sauce recipe today and it tastes amazing; if there were any leftovers, I'd let you have some," she said, handing Maka a copy of the sauce recipe. "Work's been the usual, but I really think I'm making a difference with some of the kids I've been seeing this year. One of their grades have been going up two letters, and another's no longer been getting into any fights."

    "That's great," Maka said, tucking the sauce recipe into her overnight bag. "How's Crona doing?" she asked, right as the faint sound of the shower turned off.

    "They're settling in surprisingly well," Miss Mjolnir replied. "I'm trying not to do anything to cause them any additional stress, because Medusa has put them through so much already."

    "Too much," Maka added, clenching her fist. Miss Mjolnir nodded her head in silent agreement, and the conversation took a pause for a few seconds.

    "I'm a bit worried about both the cousins, actually," she said. "Unless he studies hard during his suspension, because of the way his grades have been, Ragnarok's not going to graduate this year either. And he'll have to transfer to another school since he just can't afford to keep doing Shibusen. As a twice-repeater, he wouldn't be able to keep getting into fights and hurting people, because he could very well get arrested now. I'm surprised he didn't." Maka could feel her nerves heightening as Miss Mjolnir said all this. She knew she wasn't worrying about Ragnarok's future, so maybe this nervousness was a result of experiencing the attack.

    "I don't care at all about that man, especially not after what he did to Crona and I last week," Maka replied. "The only reason I didn't press charges against him was because I knocked him out with an improvised weapon. I don't want that used against me in court, even though it was to defend Crona from possibly being hurt even more severely than they were that night. Heck, they could have been killed if Ragnarok kept on the way he did with no restraint. I attacked him, and it wasn't out of self-defense, so an argument could be made against me because of that."

    "I see," Miss Mjolnir said, pulling up the default Notes app on her iPhone. _Is she taking notes?_ Maka thought, hearing someone else approach from the hallway.

    "Marie, sorry to bother you but... Maka, you're here!" Crona exclaimed. Maka glanced over to see they were already in their pajamas, not fancy ones, just a plain bluish-gray set.

    "Hey!" Maka said, getting up from her seat and giving Crona a hug. They were so warm, having just come out of a shower. And the hug didn't hurt her chest even when Crona hugged her back, which was a good sign for her recovery. "How are you doing?" Maka asked, a warm, pleasant feeling building up in her chest.

    "Good," Crona replied. "Marie's been really kind, I wish I could've been taken over here sooner," they said. Miss Mjolnir  beamed, and let out a small squeal of happiness. Maka started to feel too hot, and let go from the hug. "Would you like me to show you around?" Crona asked.

    "I've actually been here before," Maka replied. "But I wouldn't mind to know where I'm going to be sleeping tonight," she said, pointing to her sleeping bag.

    "Right this way," Miss Mjolnir told her, walking down the hall and to the stairwell. Maka and Crona followed her up the stairs and to the first door on the left.

 

    Inside was a comfortably-sized guest room with violet walls, ample floor space, and a queen size bed against one of its corners. There was a large window with ample windowsill taking up much of the wall across from the door, which would have let in a lot of light had it not already been past dark. There was no closet, only a dresser with Crona's empty rolling suitcase and school bag both open and propped up against it, and a digital alarm clock resting atop. There was also a corner with no furniture in it, only a pillow which looked like it had been set there, not tossed. Crona was the first to enter the room, picking up the pillow and putting it back atop their bed. Maka walked in, setting her overnight bag aside by the dresser.

    "I'll leave you two be for now," Miss Mjolnir said, beginning to close the door. "But I'll be checking on you guys every now and then, so don't do anything that you wouldn't want me to walk in on," she added, closing the door the rest of the way. Maka began to roll out her sleeping bag across the floor, noticing something was missing.

    "Shoot, I didn't bring a pillow," she said. "Can I borrow one?"

    "Sure," Crona replied, handing Maka their other pillow, not the one that was previously in the corner. That pillow, they picked up and held against themself, sitting curled up on their bed.

    "Thanks," Maka said, setting the pillow at the head of her sleeping bag. "I'm gonna go ahead and change," she added, taking a black long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of pink fleece pajama pants out of her overnight bag. Facing away from Crona, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and began pulling it off over her waist. Crona let out a surprised gasp.

    "You're doing that here? Should I leave the room?" they asked.

    "It's fine," Maka replied, turning around. Out of respect for Maka's modesty, Crona hid their face behind the pillow. "It's okay if you look, I'm not going to be taking anything off beyond this layer," Maka said, gesturing to her shirt and pants before starting to pull her shirt off over her abs. _Seeing_ _me like this would be a normal occurrence if they didn't put up that sheet at gym._ Crona tried to look over the pillow for a bit like this was normal for them, before guilt and concern spread across their face and they hid again. Maka looked down at her chest to see the faint remnants of the bruises from last week were still there. "I understand," she said, poking one of the bruises. It didn't hurt anymore, but it still looked like it would. "I don't want to keep looking at these either."

    "I know," Crona said, touching their still-broken nose. They inhaled sharply, indicating it still hurt to the touch. Maka changed into her pajamas the rest of the way, and put her other clothes in her overnight bag. After untying her pigtails, she looked back over her shoulder at Crona, who was completely facing away, the soft glow of a smartphone illuminating their face. A faint meow sounded from their phone, accompanied by some cheerful background music. "Damn you, Tubbs," they muttered.

    "Is that a new phone?" Maka asked, leaning over to see that Crona had a completely different phone than they used to.

    "Yeah, Marie got it for me earlier today," Crona replied. "I haven't put anyone's number in yet."

    "Here, you can go off my contacts list, I have everyone's number," Maka said, handing Crona her phone. Crona exited out of their game and started putting all the numbers in.

    "Maka, who's that supposed to be?" Crona asked, pointing to a contact on Maka's phone labeled 'Human Shitstain'.

    "That's Ragnarok," Maka replied. "I understand if you don't want his number on your new... and you're already putting it in."

    "He's my cousin, I have to," Crona said, entering the last few numbers in. "Okay, just have to send everyone a message confirming it's me and I just got a new phone..." they began, taking a picture of themself. "No, that looks awful." Ten more pictures followed and were promptly deleted. "They're my friends, they don't need a picture to prove it's me," Crona sighed, accepting that they just weren't photogenic in the least bit. There was a knock at the door as Miss Mjolnir opened it.

    "I've got popcorn if you two want to come out and watch a movie," she said. "Since it's the day before Valentine's, I've set out plenty of romantic comedies for your date of sorts," she added, walking back out the doorway.

    "Well, I guess this kind of is our first date," Maka said, looking back at Crona. "Right before Valentine's at your place with a romantic movie. It's really nice so far."

    "Anywhere would've been fine if it was with you," Crona replied, holding on to Maka's hand. "Shall we go?" they asked. Maka nodded in agreement, and the two of them got up to go check out the movies Miss Mjolnir was offering, still holding hands.

 

    Maka and Crona looked at the selection of movies as Miss Mjolnir went off to go get the popcorn. None of the movies were rated above PG-13, and almost all of them looked like they were going to be ridiculously terrible. The two of them ended up picking one by Miss Mjolnir's recommendation, since nothing stuck out to either of them, and they hadn't heard of any of the movies either. The movie Miss Mjolnir picked was the cheesiest romance movie Maka had ever witnessed with her own two eyes. And it was also excruciatingly long and unfunny, nearly lasting three hours of forced jokes based around romantic miscommunications that could easily have been solved by the couple just talking to each other more. _Why did Miss Mjolnir even have this movie in her collection? Does she have any taste?_ she thought, scraping her hand against the bottom of the popcorn bowl in the hopes there'd be a few pieces left, but there were not. Crona had not fared too well during the movie, having fallen asleep on Maka's shoulder an hour in. _The credits are going, should I wake them?_

    "Aww," Miss Mjolnir whispered, taking a picture with her phone, which had the flash set to auto. Due to the lighting in the room, that meant the flash went off.

    "What was that?" Crona asked, stirring a bit. "Oh, the movie's over."

    "It ended with the couple getting married, and everyone's happy, and the guy's mom no longer objects to him being with his girlfriend," Maka said. "You didn't miss that much."

    "Oh, would you look at the time," Miss Mjolnir said, looking at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to head off to bed, it's getting late."

    "Goodnight," Crona said as Miss Mjolnir walked off. Maka set the empty popcorn bowl off her lap and to the side. She stretched out her arms as far as she could reach and got up from the sofa.

    "So I guess it's just us now," Maka said, illuminated from behind by the TV screen changing from the credits back to the main menu of the DVD. Crona shut off the TV and the DVD player with the remotes. They got up from the sofa, and took a few steps right next to where Maka stood.

    "Should we head back to my room?" Crona asked.

    "Lead the way," Maka replied.

 

    She walked with them up the stairs and back to the violet room once more, her chest pounding with excitement. _We're finally alone, no chance of distractions, nobody to bother us. Just us,_ Maka thought, turning to shut the door behind her. She took a deep breath, and turned back around to see Crona sitting on their bed, hands in their lap with a small flustered smile on their face. Maka sat down in front of them, not leaving her legs to dangle but sitting on her knees, and laid her left hand on top of theirs. Giving their hands an affectionate squeeze, she looked into their eyes with a soft gleam. Maka lifted her hand back up and tried to throw her arms around Crona in a loving embrace, but they had the same idea as her and it became mutual in an instant. They didn't feel as warm in temperature as they did when Maka first arrived, but they were still just as warm in a different way. Crona's hand shifted up just a little bit to the edge of where Maka's sandy blonde hair lay, letting a bit of it run through their fingers before breaking off. Maka let go as well, but still held on to Crona's hand. She brought her other hand up to their face, feeling their soft skin against her fingers. Gazing into their eyes, Maka leaned in closer until she and Crona's faces were just shy of two inches apart.

    "May I?" she asked, glancing down at their lips. Crona's expression softened a bit.

    "You may," they replied, closing the gap. Maka closed her eyes and slowly started trailing her left hand down Crona's face. Crona wrapped their arm around Maka's back, pulling her in closer, their grip just light enough that they still could. Another warm embrace. Even with only one hand, it felt like they just couldn't let go of her. And she knew they didn't want to. Maka shifted her right hand to grip Crona's hand even tighter, intertwining her fingers with theirs. Crona's fingers curled back down around to grasp the back of Maka's small hand. A feeling beyond words kept racing through Maka's heart as all this was going on. All she could think of right now was how much she loved them, and how much she enjoyed showing it like this. She broke off from the kiss for a second, slowly opening her eyes. She kissed them on the forehead and moved her hand down to their shoulder. Letting her hand rest there for a second, she gave them another kiss on the forehead.

    "I love you so much," Maka said, before giving Crona another quick kiss on the lips. She pulled off and took a short breath.

    "I love you too," Crona replied, before kissing her back. It wasn't a quick kiss, beginning to draw out for a while, every additional second making it even harder to pull away. _I don't want to let go,_ Maka thought, closing her eyes. She relaxed her grip on Crona's shoulder, wrapping her arm around them, holding them as close as she possibly could without breaking the way she held their hand. She loosened and tightened her grip on their hand, trying to find the perfect balance. Crona broke off from the kiss, catching their breath. They touched their forehead to Maka's for a few seconds, steadily releasing the grip they had on her hand. Maka opened her eyes and let go of Crona's hand. She couldn't help but smile, moving her left hand up to the side of Crona's face, brushing it across there before setting it in her lap. Crona glanced to the side, their eyes

widening for a second. They let out a small gasp, and Maka followed their gaze to the dresser. And the display on their digital alarm clock. 12:01 AM.

    "Oh, happy Valentine's Day," Maka said. She kissed Crona on the cheek.

    "I can't believe it's already midnight," Crona added. "And happy Valentine's Day," they said, giving Maka a kiss on the cheek in return.

    "I know, but I still don't want to go to sleep just yet," Maka replied, turning her body a bit so her legs dangled off the edge of Crona's bed. She got up and turned off the light, the room turning to near-darkness in a flash, the only light coming in from a streetlamp's glow outside the window. Maka turned to face her sleeping bag, still a bit on the fence as to whether she wanted to go to sleep just yet. But she resolved she had to go ahead and turn in because she never got an exact time for when she was going to be picked up in the morning, and she at least wanted to have a decent amount of sleep before then. Maka unzipped the side of her sleeping bag, fluffed up her borrowed pillow, and zipped herself back up inside it. She lay in the sleeping bag, a cold and lonely feeling going through her. Looking up at the bed to see Crona getting underneath the covers that looked even softer and warmer (in comparison to Maka's sleeping bag) the cold and lonely feeling only intensified. Maka unzipped her sleeping bag and picked up the pillow. She sat up.

    "Room for two?" she asked.

    "I was waiting for you to say that," Crona replied. Maka got out of her sleeping bag and into their bed, setting the pillow down below her head and pulling the covers up to her shoulders. She laid her hand out palm side-up on the pillow in front of her face. Crona took her hand and gave her a soft smile. Maka was sure she was repeating their expression as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	24. Chapter 24

     _For all of them, this year has been such a huge leap into uncharted territory to some degree_ , Spirit thought to himself, looking at a sheet of the Spartoi roster. _Only one of them isn't a complete newbie, and we're well on our way to performing at Nationals. There's no way I could have predicted the year would go like this. This team's the first one since I started coaching that's been having lunch together every day, the first one with nobody officially quitting before State..._ Spirit's thoughts were interrupted by Crona approaching him in the hallway.

    "Mr. Albarn, can I have a minute?" they asked. _And the first year where one of our own's had an abusive parent._

    "Sure," Spirit replied.

    "The trial is next week, and I don't think I'll be able to make it to practice since I'll be there at the courthouse while it's going on," Crona said. "It shouldn't last more than a week or two, so I'll be back before you guys even notice I'm gone, hopefully with my mother ruled guilty."

    "Thanks for letting me know," Spirit replied. "I'm sure it'll all work out," he added, leaning down a bit to Crona's eye level. "You're a good kid, I'm sure they'll believe you."

    "I hope so," Crona said, their voice going quiet. Spirit noticed the uneasy, doubtful look in their eyes and hoped they weren't expecting Medusa to be ruled innocent. To Spirit's knowledge, nobody's directly witnessed what Medusa has done, just its aftereffects of a malnourished body and what seemed to be a mind that was permanently on edge. Symptoms that up until now, nobody batted an eye at. So that outcome might be possible. As a father, Spirit did not want to think about that happening. He just could not stand by that possibility.

    "Papa, I looked over the brochure you were talking about," Maka said, walking in while holding a brochure for a summer self-defense seminar at the community center. "I'm going to take it."

    "Good, we don't want another Ragnarok incident," Spirit replied, turning around to look at Maka. His precious daughter, who had been hurt recently right under his nose. "If only I had come inside to the party, I could have prevented this."

    "Don't beat yourself up about it," Maka said, walking over to where Crona stood, right as the five-minute bell rang. "And that's our cue," Maka added, taking Crona's hand.

    "We shouldn't be late, Mr. Buttataki's been a lot stricter lately," Crona pointed out, as they walked with Maka down the hall and out of sight. _Why are they both acting like that attack was nothing at all?_ Spirit thought to himself as he made his way down the hall to his office. _I can understand if Crona's grown numb to this kind of stuff happening to them, but Maka's never been hurt like that before. Is she just putting up a brave face for me?_ Spirit opened the door to his office, a stack of paperwork greeting him on his desk. He picked up the paperwork and began to read. _Art Club budget report, scuffle between Black_ _☆_ _Star and Kidd in the parking lot last Friday, more offensive graffiti in the bathrooms..._ Spirit's eyes returned to the one about Black☆Star and Kidd. According to the faculty member who witnessed it, the 'scuffle' was just verbal argument,

rude hand gestures, and an attempted slap by Black☆Star that Kidd ended up dodging. Tsubaki broke them up after that to take Black☆Star back to the car. Neither party ended up punished, and the incident lasted forty seconds. Tops.

    "Oh, just that?" Spirit asked himself. "Well, since I'm those boys' coach, it's my duty to step in if it escalates any further."

 

    And so far, it didn't seem to be escalating when Spirit checked Spartoi's table at lunch, nor at practice. For a week and a half, Spirit was confident that the scuffle was only a one-time incident. After all, Black☆Star and Kidd only butted heads with each other occasionally, and it never went beyond a few snide remarks. Until Spirit was walking down the hall to the choir room, and heard a shout from inside.

    "THAT'S IT!" Black☆Star's muffled voice shouted from behind the door. Then there was the sound of a loud crash and several people screaming, both boys and girls. Spirit jumped back.

    "I think you grazed Jackie's leg with that, you motherfucker!" Kim snapped. Spirit ran up to the door and opened it.

    "Everything okay in here?" he asked, trying to sound casual. A tiny trickle of blood started to ooze out from Jackie's knee. There was a ruler laying down on the ground right by where Jackie and Kidd stood. It had obviously been thrown. And Black☆Star was laying flat on his butt, a chair on the floor that had fallen out from underneath him.

    "I just need a band-aid," Jackie replied. Tsubaki handed her one from her bag. "Thanks."

    "I didn't even think that would break skin," Black☆Star said. "The metal edge was supposed to be blunt, right?"

    "You didn't even have to throw it at me!" Kid yelled at him.

    "Hey, keep your voice down," Spirit said, a forceful glare in his eyes. "I want every detail of what exactly happened, and any guilty parties are going to go to the principal's office, understood?" he asked.

    "It started with Black☆Star telling us he wanted more lines in Nationals, and that it was unfair to him you skewed a majority toward Kidd and Liz," Soul explained.

    "And then Kidd said you picked out the balance between lines for a reason, and it only looks that way because of the rebalancing you did after Ragnarok got kicked out," Maka added.

    "Then Black☆Star pointed out exactly how many lines he got, and apparently it pissed him off that out of all the boys, he got only the third highest," Liz said. "Which I honestly can't tell if there's an imbalance in anyone's favor upon looking at the revisions."

    "Easy for you to say," Black☆Star grumbled.

    "Look, the reality is, we want to win, so the best voices are going to get highlighted, even if we're doing it all as a group," Kidd explained. "And unfortunately, your highly harsh voice may be quite off-putting to the judges." After Kidd said that, Black☆Star became livid. He clenched his fist and ran up to Kidd. Kidd looked taken aback under the realization of what he just said.

    "Well excuse me for not having a perfect voice, you fucker!" Black☆Star shouted. "If it was up to me, my voice would be deeper and manlier than all of yours put together, but no…"

    "Settle down," Spirit said, pushing Black☆Star and Kidd away from each other. "What caused you to throw your ruler at him, Black☆Star?"

    "He called me an egoistic bastard," Black☆Star replied. "And I don't take kindly to being insulted. I meant to throw it at his face, but I lost footing and the stupid chair fell, so it missed and I hit my ass."

    "I'm no expert, but isn't that supposed to be karma?" Hiro asked.

    "No, it's simple physics," Ox replied.

    "Whatever it was, Black☆Star is in deep trouble," Spirit said, turning to face the boy. "You and Kidd are coming with me."

 

    Principal Morte's office was filled with mirrors, and there were no chairs save for his own, which was already occupied. His desk had a giant mirror frame in front of it, with the glass removed, and there were a few cotton-ball clouds of various sizes dangling from the ceiling. The walls were sky blue, and the floor pure white.

    "Spirit, what a surprise!" Principal Morte gleefully chimed.

    "There was a student altercation," Spirit said in a matter-of-fact tone, bringing in Black☆Star and Kidd. Upon seeing his son, Principal Morte's eyes widened in shock. But after seeing no physical damage to either of the boys, he relaxed a bit.

    "You didn't have to bring them here over a silly little argument," Principal Morte said. "Whatever it was, I'm sure you boys can settle this amongst yourselves."

    "Father, he threw a ruler at me," Kidd said.

    "I thought just the flat side would whap him in the face for a sec like this," Black☆Star argued, gently smacking his hand against Kidd's nose. _Why would you do that in front of his father?_

    "Black☆Star!" Principal Morte snapped. "Look, regardless, a ruler isn't gonna do much damage, so you aren't going to be punished severely. Kidd, I'll just let you off with a warning, and Black☆Star has to spend the next two extracurricular periods checking for and scrubbing off the bathroom graffiti. This is Strike One."

    "What are Strikes Two and Three going to be?" Kidd asked.

    "Strike Two: you both get sent to the guidance counselor to talk it out," Principal Morte replied. "Strike Three: I'm pulling you both from your extracurriculars."

    Kidd looked at his father, shocked, and nearly took a step back. Black☆Star just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, but anyone could see by looking at his face that he was not fond of this either. The slight bit of surprise vanished, and he furrowed his brow, glancing over in Kidd's direction.

   "His punishment includes the rest of this period, right?" Kidd asked, looking his father dead in the eye.

   "Sure, why not?" Principal Morte asked in return. "Hey, Spirit, why don't you go take Black☆Star over to the janitor's closet and get him some supplies so he can start cleaning now?"

   "Okay, I'll go do that," Spirit replied. "Come on, Black☆Star," he added. Black☆Star let out an annoyed groan, and reluctantly followed Spirit out of the room.

    "I hate this," Black☆Star groaned, filling a bucket with soapy water in the boys' bathroom sink. He looked over at a graffiti drawing on the wall of a shark with a gigantic machine gun and chuckled. He took a picture of it with his cell phone before dunking his sponge in the soapy solution. Black☆Star began scrubbing off the graffiti, which he soon figured out had been drawn with a pencil. "And just like that, you're gone," he said, his eyes turning to the bathroom mirror, and Spirit's reflection inside. "Why are you still here?" Black☆Star asked.

    "I was just checking to see if you weren't going to shirk off immediately," Spirit replied, pointing over to a huge collection of phone numbers on another wall. "Because you've still got that, and the other boys' bathrooms could have some more stuff, not to mention the stalls-"

    "I get it," Black☆Star interjected. "Look man, the rest of the team needs you, you should go back to them," he said, before pointing to himself with his thumb. "This star'll just keep on shining even when there's no one else around."

    "If you applied that to your thoughts on the set list we wouldn't be in this mess," Spirit replied, leaving the room. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought Black☆Star may have flipped him off on the way out. _I hope he doesn't become the new problem case. Ragnarok was enough._

 

    By this day, Spirit checking up on Spartoi at lunch was not unusual. There were only a dozen at the table, meaning Crona was at the courthouse that day. Spirit clenched his fist, hoping they'd stay brave. _But wait, where was Black_ _☆_ _Star? He wasn't supposed to clean graffiti until the extracurricular period... oh, here he comes_ , Spirit thought. Black☆Star approached the table, fuming, with a paper bag in hand.

    "Kidd Morte, you hung me out to dry!" Black☆Star snapped, putting his fist down into Kidd's chicken parmesan.

    "Do you have any idea what could have just gotten into my chicken parm with that?" Kidd asked.

    "Dude, chill," Black☆Star said.

    "You chill," Kidd replied. "You contaminated my lunch with your fist... oh dear God, your lunch bag is leaking all over it!" he screeched, beginning to scratch his head incessantly. Black☆Star pulled his lunch away.

    "That was one heck of a Sloppy Joe," Black☆Star said. "I put way too much sauces in the filling."

    "You'd eat something like that here?" Kidd asked. He noticed Spirit out of the corner of his eye, and stopped for a second. Kidd whispered something to Black☆Star. Black☆Star looked over his shoulder at Spirit with his usual level of subtlety.

    "Yeah, I'd eat a Sloppy Joe here, I have no shame," Black☆Star said, sitting down next to Kidd and taking the bread from his sandwich out of his bag. The filling had fallen out into the bag, and Black☆Star began to scoop it up with a fork. Spirit seemed relieved that the boys weren't really fighting again, and turned to head out to where the other faculty members were having lunch. Until he heard Kidd scream.

    "You flicked it out on my collar!" Kidd screeched, trying to dab out the Sloppy Joe filling with a napkin. Black☆Star leaned in close, sandwich in hand. _Don't do it, Black_ _☆_ _Star_ , Spirit thought.

    "It doesn't look that bad," he said, taking a bite. A blob of filling, pushed out from between buns, fell from Black☆Star's sandwich and right on Kidd's pants leg. "Five second rule," Black☆Star said, using the fork to smear the filling off of Kidd's leg and onto his napkin. This only caused the spot to get larger.

    "Get that thing away from me!" Kidd shouted in panic, slapping Black☆Star's hand back out of reflex. The Sloppy Joe flew out of his hand and onto the floor.

    "What the hell?" Black☆Star asked, his voice raising as he curled up his fists. Kidd looked at the sandwich on the floor and the stain on his knee, and began scratching his scalp again, his breathing becoming more and more hurried. Black☆Star grabbed the hand Kidd was using to scratch himself, with a hand covered in sauce. Kidd's eyes widened in horror.

    "You're getting it all over me!" Kidd exclaimed. Black☆Star let go of his hand. Kidd frantically started dabbing off all the spots with his napkin. "Why would you even make a mess like this, those sandwiches are the bane of respectful eating! You're disgusting."

    " _I'm_ disgusting?" Black☆Star asked. "Look who's got Sloppy Joe sauce all over one of his pant legs... urk!"

    "Kidd, let go of his collar!" Maka shouted. Spirit started walking over to the table.

    "Sauce you spilled! I bet you only did that because you were mad at me for yesterday, didn't you?" Kidd asked, shaking Black☆Star by the collar. "I didn't 'hang you out to dry', I only asked my father if your punishment applied to that day as well, that's it!  You didn't have to lean in so close with that wretched sandwich! You knew it would get on me! That disgusting slime would get on my leg, and my pants would be ruined!"

    "Break it up!" Spirit yelled, hoping his voice was not shaking with fear. The whole cafeteria became silent. "Both of you, come with me. This is Strike Two."

 

    Spirit took Black☆Star and Kidd to Miss Mjolnir's office, where she was busy having lunch. She looked up from her salad and saw the sauce stain on Kidd's leg, and Black☆Star's shaken collar.

    "What happened here?" Miss Mjolnir asked.

    "Kidd went ballistic when I brought a Sloppy Joe to lunch," Black☆Star replied, shrugging his shoulders. Spirit sighed, and described to Miss Mjolnir every detail as to what he witnessed.

    "So, upset with Kidd over what happened yesterday in the principal's office, Black☆Star purposely made the messiest meal he could for lunch, made it even messier, and might have gotten some on Kidd on purpose?" Miss Mjolnir asked. " And then Kidd physically attacked him?"

    "I really just shook him up by the collar and yelled at him," Kidd replied.

    "That's still not behaviour we tolerate here," Miss Mjolnir said. "Even if you're the principal's son."

    "That's right," Spirit added, wanting to be included.

    "And the Sloppy Joe was just a coincidence, honest," Black☆Star said.

    "Why don't you two sit down on the couch here and we can have a little talk?" Miss Mjolnir asked. "Mr. Albarn, you can stay if you want, but I'm really going to focus on Black☆Star and Kidd here," she said. The two boys sat down on the couch, Miss Mjolnir swiveling over in her chair to face them. "Now let's get to the root cause of your issues with each other. What do you think of him? Be honest."

    "Kidd's a stuck up little brat who's getting all my stage time because he's the principal's son," Black☆Star replied. "And he said my voice was off-putting, because it's high and harsh. Who gave him the right to hate it?"

    "And Black☆Star is an egomaniacal, poor excuse for my upperclassman who really should be taken down a peg," Kidd added, fidgeting a bit in discomfort because he still had the wet sauce stains on his clothes. "And I'm not getting those extra lines due to nepotism, I just got a few because Ragnarok was suspended and Mr. Albarn needed to fill in his parts."

    "Are you two frustrated at each other, or are you really frustrated at him?" Miss Mjolnir asked. Hey now, don't blame me for all this!

    "Both," Black☆Star replied. "Mr. Albarn didn't even ask who should have the lines, he just gave all of them to Kidd.  And on kind of an unrelated note," he said, noticing Kidd had started scratching his head again, "Kidd's also pissing me off because he still keeps scratching his head when thrown out of balance. Like dude, don't you realize that's hurting you?"

    "It doesn't draw blood, and besides, I only got three extra lines because that's all Ragnarok had since his voice is grating and unpleasant to listen to," Kidd replied, sheepishly putting his hand down.

    "Black☆Star brings up a valid point about the scratching," Miss Mjolnir said. "Even if it's not drawing blood, you're still tearing up your skin."

    "I’ll try not to do it as often," Kidd said. The room went quiet after that for several seconds. "Black☆Star, when I said your voice could be off-putting to the judges, I didn't mean I hated it. I kind of like the energy your voice has been bringing to our performances, no matter how annoying you can be."

    "Um, thanks, I guess," Black☆Star replied, sounding unsatisfied. "And if anyone deserves those extra three lines..." he began, utilizing the dramatic pause to its fullest, "...it's me. Still me."

    "You know there's an easy way to compromise," Miss Mjolnir pointed out, after taking another bite of her salad. "Why don't you boys sing them as a duet?"

    "Miss Mjolnir, with all due respect," Kidd began, "they're not all together, and each is between other solo lines, so a duet just won't work too well," he said. Black☆Star got up from his seat.

    "Line hog," Black☆Star said, staring Kidd directly in the eye.

    "Will you two just let it go?" Spirit asked. "Black☆Star, if you think this is nepotism, I'm going to show you what nepotism actually is," he said. Black☆Star, Kidd, and Miss Mjolnir all turned to look at Spirit. "I'm going to give the lines to Maka, because she is my precious daughter and I love seeing her in the spotlight!" Spirit exclaimed. "Okay?" he asked. Black☆Star and Kidd looked at each other. To Black☆Star's surprise, Kidd began to laugh.

    "What the hell are you laughing for?" Black☆Star asked. "I thought you wanted those lines."

    "Not particularly," Kidd replied. "I just wanted to teach you a lesson about your own ego."

    "Yeah, well, I'm gonna learn nothing from this just to spite you!" Black☆Star exclaimed.

    "Okay, suit yourself," Kidd replied, holding out his hand.

    "I'm not shaking your hand," Black☆Star said, smirking to himself. "God, you're being so self-righteous," he added, as Kidd got up from the couch. Kidd held out his hand again, a smug look on his face. "Oh, all right, but just this once," Black☆Star groaned, grasping Kidd's hand and giving him a firm handshake. "I'm still gonna shine brighter than you when we're up on stage."

    "I'd expect you to aim for nothing less," Kidd replied. _Looks like they've made up for now._ Miss Mjolnir finished up her salad as the two boys broke off their handshake. She dabbed some Italian dressing off the corner of her mouth with a napkin and closed up her salad's container.

    "I'm glad you two seem to have come to an agreement," Miss Mjolnir said, throwing her napkin in the trash. "Kidd, you can stay until the end of lunch hour if you want to talk," she added, noticing him inspecting his nails for dead skin. Black☆Star walked over to join Spirit where he stood. Kidd tensed up for a second, before sitting back down on the couch.

    "This is going to be personal, so I'd like if Black☆Star could leave," Kidd said.

    "Come on, Black☆Star," Spirit said, ushering Black☆Star with him out the door.

 

    Once they were out in the hall, Spirit closed the door behind them. He could hear Kidd beginning to talk with Miss Mjolnir, their voices muffled by the closed door. Looking back down at Black☆Star, Spirit saw a pair of eyes filled with concern.

    "You okay, dude?" Black☆Star asked. "You kinda snapped there for a second." Spirit didn't know what to reply with at first. He had known Black☆Star for several years now, so he could tell that the boy's concern was genuine. Spirit sighed.

    "I just don't want any more fighting between you kids," he said. "Especially not after what happened at your house party. Where were you then, anyway?" he asked, raising his voice. "Where were you when _my daughter_ was assaulted by a _drunk_ in _your_ backyard and had to be taken to the _emergency room_?"

    "I was in the basement doing karaoke with everyone," Black☆Star said. "The music both down there and upstairs was too loud for me to hear what was going on out there. All of Spartoi was there except Kidd, Maka, and Crona. Kidd was searching the house for kegs to destroy, and I just assumed Crona and Maka didn't come down because they were making out in Tsubaki's room or something." Black☆Star sounded like he was omitting a detail on purpose when he said all this. "When they both did come down, it was because you were back to pick Maka up. Both their faces were seriously messed up, and they mentioned the fight briefly before heading out. Then I went outside to find Ragnarok unconscious and I drew a few dicks on his face with permanent marker as well as writing what he did to them on his arm so when he sobered up he'd be aware. Also I kicked him in the side repeatedly for a whole minute."

    "That's every detail?" Spirit asked.

    "Well, apart from the fact I was _kiiinda_ tipsy, yeah," Black☆Star said, not keeping his voice down like he probably should have done. "If I knew what was happening out there, you can bet I'd have punched the living daylights out of Ragnarok for what he did."

    "You were drinking?" Spirit asked.

    "I wasn't the only one," Black☆Star replied. Spirit raised an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna snitch," Black☆Star said, beginning to walk off down the hallway.

    "Fair enough, I'll just check Facebook," Spirit replied, following Black☆Star.

    "None of us use Facebook," Black☆Star said. "Well, I have an account I created the day after the party specifically to make people remove any trace of it happening, and a few of us have some old accounts from middle school, but we've all pretty much moved to other websites," he added, before stopping. "Hey, is that Maka and Soul?" he asked, looking over at the two of them, walking up a staircase.

    "I don't know what this is, but for some reason all I can still think of when I hear his name is the attack and the fear and the pain," Maka said. Spirit felt sick to his stomach.

    "I'm no expert in psychology, but yeah, I think you did get kinda messed up about it," Soul replied. "Maybe you should talk with Miss Mjolnir, or your parents some more."

    "Mama blamed Papa, and Papa blames himself," Maka said. "It's no good. I know exactly whose fault it was, I don't need to hear them blame the wrong person. At least nobody's blaming me or Crona for it. God, I hope Papa hasn't stress vomited too much over this." After that point, Maka and Soul's voices became too faint with distance to hear. The nasty feeling in Spirit's stomach grew, and he frantically looked around the halls for a trash can. _No, Spirit, hold it in, keep it together,_ he thought, trying to suppress it. _Do it for her._

    "Have you?" Black☆Star asked. "How much have you puked over this?"

    "In the two weeks since it happened, five times," Spirit replied. "Once when we got home from the emergency room, once talking to Ragnarok and his dad over the suspension, and three times either thinking about it or trying to discuss it with Maka or her mother."

    "That's pretty much like once every three days, right?" Black☆Star asked. "Damn, that sucks."

    "I'm supposed to be the mature adult here," Spirit said. "I'm not even the one this happened to, why am I the one getting the most worked up?"

    "How am I supposed to know?" Black☆Star asked in return. "Guilt over not being there to prevent it or something?"

    "That's obvious," Spirit replied. The five-minute bell rang.

    "Damn it, I gotta get to class," Black☆Star said, starting to run off.

    "No running in the halls," Spirit said. _What is this, the fiftieth time someone's stopped him for that this semester? And overall... let's see, there were over a hundred tick marks on Sid's notepad last he showed me,_ _and that was a while ago,_ Spirit thought, trying to distract himself and calm down.

    "Hey, Mr. Albarn," Black☆Star began, "you're gonna be fine! Maka's a strong girl, she can push through this!" he exclaimed. _I hope you're right,_ Spirit thought, watching Black☆Star head off down the hall at racewalk pace. _He's right, these kids are all tough. Maka's tough. She'll be able to push through._ Spirit saw Kidd pass him by at a hurried pace, the boy giving him only a look to acknowledge his presence. Miss Mjolnir walked out of her office and into the adjacent womens' bathroom. Spirit just leaned against the wall. _Working with teens isn't a nightmare because they're teens, it's a nightmare because of their capabilities. They can be so cruel to each other, physically and mentally, and yet as an adult, a coach, an assistant principal, and a parent, it's my job to steer them in the right direction so they don't have to inflict or deal with any more cruelty. This world's already harsh enough without it, he thought. Where's Stein when you need him, I could really go for a cigarette right now. I mean, I can go out and buy a pack, but I'm supposed to be working right now and they don't let people smoke here._ Spirit began to walk back to his office, Miss Mjolnir's office door becoming a faint speck in the distance. _I wonder how things are going at the courthouse? Stein's probably holding up okay as a juror, but Crona's there testifying against their own mother. That's gotta be a stressful experience._

    Spirit's phone rang, and he immediately answered it without even looking at the number.

    "You don't have Crona's phone confiscated, do you?" Ragnarok asked over the other end. This was the absolute last person Spirit wanted to call him right now.

    "Crona's not even at school," Spirit replied. "What do you need to reach them for anyway? You going to apologize for what you did to them? And my daughter?"

    "I'm not going to apologize for something I did when I was drunk, that's all on the alcohol!" Ragnarok yelled. "Besides, those bitches provoked me," he said.

    "You did not just refer to my daughter as a bitch," Spirit snapped. "And Maka told me the whole story, she didn't provoke you, and by the time Crona got there, you had already hurt Maka, so they didn't provoke you into doing something that was already in the midst of happening."

    "What do I care?" Ragnarok asked. "I just want to know if Crona's still in the hospital. They've never answered any of my calls or texts."

    "Have you been calling their new phone?" Spirit asked in return.

    "What the fuck do you think I'm doing? Of course I'm calling their new phone," Ragnarok replied.

    "Then I don't know why they're not returning your calls," Spirit said. "Probably because you hurt them so badly. And they aren't still in the hospital, it was just a brief emergency room visit. The worst they got was a broken nose."

    "That's all?" Ragnarok asked.

    "Well, you also gave them a black eye, and not to mention bruised my daughter's ribs and gave her a concussion," Spirit replied. "If it were up to me, you would be thrown in jail but for some reason neither of them pressed charges against you. They should have."

    "That's your opinion," Ragnarok replied, hanging up on Spirit before he could get another word in. He put his phone back in his pocket and took a deep breath. Not only was he afraid for Maka and how she was dealing with all this, but fully realizing just how unapologetic Ragnarok was about the whole matter filled him with rage. No remorse, no regrets, just trying to live his life like it never happened. Spirit could not stomach how a person could treat other human beings that way, especially children, and then act like it was completely fine and blame it on alcohol he was still technically too young to legally drink.

    "Gah, the stuff you should blame on alcohol is calling your boss at two in the morning and going on a slurred rant at the outcome of a sports game for way too long, not assaulting two minors!" Spirit exclaimed in frustration. The school bell rang, signifying afternoon classes had begun. _That felt like a long five minutes,_ Sprit thought to himself, hearing Miss Mjolnir approach him.

    "Hey, you need to talk to someone?" she asked. "I know I'm just supposed to be here for the students, but I just can't ignore a friend in need."

    "Thanks, Marie," Spirit replied. "I guess I can put off work for a little while and vent."

 

    Spirit and Miss Mjolnir returned to the latter's office, where Spirit vented everything he had felt since the house party. About how scared and worried he was for his daughter, about how he felt temporary suspension from school and permanent suspension from Spartoi was not enough punishment for what Ragnarok had done, and about how he was kind of scared that anyone from this school could end up becoming the top dog of the bullies and take Ragnarok's place. There wasn't any strong candidate for that now, but Spirit never knew when another would rise. Miss Mjolnir reassured him that it couldn't be anyone in Spartoi, and that it was part of her job to make sure it wouldn't be anyone else either.

    "I guess I just kinda feel like everyone in Spartoi's family to an extent," Spirit said. "Except if any of them are dating Maka, then they're more like a close family friend that still gets treated like they'll soon become one of the family by marriage or something. Don't want any implicit incest in the family metaphor."

    "You've got a lot of love for these kids," Miss Mjolnir replied.

    "At this point, Nationals is becoming second to making sure they're all gonna be okay," Spirit said. "I know it's kind of a failing as a coach, but as someone who cares about these kids, I think it's..."

    "A success," Spirit and Miss Mjolnir said at the same time. There was a pause, as Spirit pushed the trash can away from where he sat. He got everything off his chest before it boiled over, and was starting to feel a bit better having done so.

    "I'm sure everyone's gonna pull through," Miss Mjolnir said. "And with your support, it's going to happen sooner. You don't need to blame yourself for what you couldn't control in the past, just focus on helping these kids in the present and everything's gonna turn out just fine."

    Spirit looked at Miss Mjolnir with an encouraging smile.

    "Hey, yeah," he said, getting up from the chair. "Thanks for the help, Marie, I really appreciated it." Now he was going to look to the door, and to the rest of the year ahead, and try to focus on her advice. And in his hopes, he would keep being the best damn coach Spartoi's ever seen.


	25. Chapter 25

**(A/N: Though I did my best to make sure all the information presented is accurate, this chapter should NOT BE USED AS A REPLACEMENT FOR ACTUAL SEX EDUCATION. I'm serious. Seek out a variety of sources outside of fan fiction for your education, okay?)**

 

    The music ended along with practice on one fateful Friday. Maka sighed, panting with exhaustion after practicing the same bit of the same routine for ten minutes straight. She wiped the sweat off her brow, her fingers now glistening. Maka wiped her fingers off on her skirt, which was going to be washed when she got home anyway, so a little extra sweat on it was fine.

    "Great work, you guys!" Spirit chimed. "I'll see you all next week," he added, looking at the thirteen teenagers before him. Thirteen. There was still one of Spartoi's number away that day, and Maka dearly hoped they'd return soon with good news. She felt Liz tap her shoulder, and pivoted around to face her.

    "Maka, you didn't see him at school today, did you?" Liz asked. She had a worried look on her face, especially in her eyes. Maka looked up to her eye level, her mouth slightly opening to say something, but she paused for a few seconds before she did.

    "Who are you talking abou... oh," Maka replied, her stomach sinking with dread. Her fingers tensed up, and she balled them up into fists so deep that her nails dug into her palms. But that began to hurt, so she relaxed herself, taking a deep breath.

    "You don't know today was his first day back?" Liz asked.

    "No, I didn't see him,"  Maka replied. _That's a relief,_ she thought, hearing the door get flung open.

 

    Her relief was short-lived, as there stood the "him" in question, Ragnarok. This was the first time Maka had seen him in person since the party, and she quickly realized the way she saw him had changed completely. Instead of a big, stupid nuisance, he was now a big, terrifying nuisance. When she saw him again, she saw that night, and the reflections of her and Crona's bloodied faces in the mirror. Trying to get the images from that night out of her head, Maka could feel the adrenaline increase through her body. She balled up her fists again, not as hard this time. Liz immediately put herself in front of Maka to protect her incase Ragnarok tried anything.

    "Oh, Crona's not back," Ragnarok said, looking at how everyone in the room was standing. They were standing like they were taking a stand, nearly every last Spartoi member present standing by Maka, ready for the worst. Except for Hiro, who was getting his phone off the charger plugged into the wall and hurriedly texting someone. _Ragnarok's acting like nothing ever happened. Is that what he thinks of what he did? That it was just something that easily can be blown over?_

    "What? You guys think I'm just gonna kill one of you now? Funny how you never acted this way when I was only bullying Crona," Ragnarok added. "Well, the Albarn girl did, but the rest of you..." _The Albarn girl. He's not even going to give me the satisfaction of first name basis. Good._

    "You're barred from the club room, now leave!" Liz shouted.

    "Yeah, get out!" Patty exclaimed, her voice cracking with rage.

    "Don't make us send you to the hospital like you did to Maka and Crona!" Black☆Star added.

    "Now Black☆Star, let's not stoop to his level," Tsubaki said. "We don't have to hospitalize him, we just have to get the message across," she added, rolling up her sleeves.

    "Is it a fight you guys want?" Ragnarok asked, clenching his fists. "Because I'll gladly-" He was interrupted by Spirit's phone ringing in its defaultest tone. Half the room's eyes turned to Spirit, as he took his phone out of his jacket pocket and glanced at the Caller ID.

    "God, why doesn't anyone under thirty set those things to vibrate?" Kim groaned, putting some money back in her bag. _Was she taking bets on how this was going to play out?_

    "It's Stein, this might be important," Spirit said, picking up. "Hello? Wait, it's over? A verdict? You guys are pulling up to the school right now? Okay, we'll be right out," he said before hanging up. Spirit put his phone back into his jacket pocket, an expression that simultaneously captured both the positive and negative types of nervousness striking his face.

    "What's this bullshit about?" Ragnarok asked. Spirit cleared his throat.

    "Guys, instead of fighting, we're gonna go outside because Stein's got some very important news, okay?" he announced.

 

    Maka immediately realized what this news meant, and she sprinted out the door with the others in tow. The thuds of her footsteps echoed across the tile floors until she stopped at the front door. She opened it to see Dr. Stein's familiar car, an old white minivan with large stitch decals, and a child services car. _Wait, why are child services here unless... they're here too!_ Dr. Stein walked around the front of his car and gave a quick wave to Maka and the others.

    "Hey, the trial's over!" Dr. Stein called out. "I'd tell you guys the verdict, but we agreed back at the courthouse that we're gonna be letting Crona tell you guys. It was their suggestion," he said. Maka saw Mifune come out of the child services car, and walk over to the drivers' side back door. He opened the door, and out came a trembling Crona. _Wait, they're trembling,_ Maka thought. Crona glanced over to Maka, tears streaming down their face.

    "Oh no," Maka whispered, clasping her hand over her mouth. She heard a few gasps come from Spartoi behind her.

    "It can't be," Tsubaki said.

    "Go to them," Kidd told Maka. "You're the one they're going to need most right now." Maka cautiously took a few steps forward as Mifune led Crona around to the other side of his car. Maka took a deep breath, _expecting the worst. It's all over, we tried everything we could, but it's over. And in the worst way possible, too._

 

    But to Maka's surprise, Crona was smiling through the tears.

 

    "Maka, we won," they said. "Medusa was ruled guilty." She couldn't believe it. Those were tears of joy. Crona was free.

    "Really?" Maka asked, unable to contain her newfound excitement.

    "Really," Crona replied, throwing their arms around Maka. Maka wrapped her arms around their back, returning the embrace.

    "I'm so glad," she said, closing her eyes. She was so happy for them, she wanted to hug them forever. "I'm so glad," she repeated, quieter this time. This day couldn't have come any sooner, no, she wanted it to come sooner. For their sake. She was so happy, for their sake.

    "Oh thank goodness," Spirit said, running in and hugging both Maka and Crona.

    "Hey, it's another group hug!" Black☆Star shouted, sprinting to join in. Then came Liz and Patty. Then Tsubaki, then Soul, then Kidd, then Kilik, then Jackie, then Kim, then Ox, then Harvar, then Hiro. Ragnarok tried to enter, but Dr. Stein physically blocked him away from the group.

    "What's your problem?" Ragnarok asked. "You think I can't be happy for Crona for once? They've still got me to worry about, but at least Medusa's out of their hair."

    "I know what happened at the party, and Spirit's told me how it affected Maka," Dr. Stein replied. "This is for the best." Papa told Dr. Stein about what? _That was private. I'll talk with Papa next time I'm at his house_ , Maka thought, choosing now to just take in the moment.

    "For the best?" Ragnarok asked. "Shut up, you graying-in-your-thirties asshole!" he snapped, pushing Dr. Stein away to try and get to Crona.

    "Okay, that's enough," Crona said, noticing Ragnarok out of the corner of their eye. "I need to breathe, you guys," they added as people started to break off. There was still a slight smile on their face, and they had stopped crying. They started stretching their back a bit, taking a deep breath.

    "How was the trial?" Soul asked.

    "Awful," Crona replied. "I'm glad it's over."

    "It was really close," Dr. Stein added. "The jury was divided up until the last day of the trial, where Medusa was finally ruled guilty of abuse and criminal neglect of her child and she's gonna be in prison now for a while."

    "Hell yeah!" Black☆Star exclaimed, high-fiving Crona. They shook their hand off afterwards, indicating it stung.

    "Since Medusa was forcing Crona to keep quiet about what was going on for much of their life, and was able to create alibis to convince acquaintances that she wasn't actually doing anything wrong as well as deliberately not talking to people about certain things, or at all, there wasn't too much evidence beyond Crona's appearance, and Medusa had a false explanation for that too."

    "Hey, how long is he gonna talk for?" Black☆Star whispered to Maka. She shushed him.

    "The trial basically came down to mother's word versus child's," Dr. Stein continued, ignoring Black☆Star. "In the end, it was just who the jury ended up believing, and lucky for Crona it was them."

    "Did you punch her in the face as you were leaving?" Ragnarok asked Crona.

    "Um, no, that would have just caused more problems," Crona replied. "I wanted to," they said, gritting their teeth. They then took another deep breath and relaxed themself. "I'm just glad it's all over."

 

    Spartoi ended up going out to dinner to celebrate, Soul's treat. The weekend was spent mostly as usual for everyone, and Maka was sure she wasn't the only who felt relieved about it. Up until she looked at Monday on her calendar. _Important Health class_ , it read. _When did I write that?_ Maka thought, thinking to herself as to what exactly was so important about this specific Health class. And then it dawned on her.

    "Oh right, Sex Ed," Maka groaned, picking up her still-unsigned permission slip. "I got so caught up this weekend because of the verdict," she said, walking out of her room and down the hall to her father's.

    She knocked on his door.

    "Anything you need?" Spirit asked, a smile on his face. He looked calm, which relieved Maka. _At least he wasn't holed up hiding his stress or watching porn_ , she thought, holding out the permission slip.

    "I still need your signature for this slip," Maka replied. Spirit's eyes widened.

    "Oh no, I forgot about that," he said in an unconvincing tone. "Let me go get a pen," he added, going back in his room. He let out an annoyed scream.

    "Need help finding the pen?" Maka asked, rolling her eyes.

    "No, it's just," Spirit replied. He sighed. "Just give me the slip and I'll sign it."

 

    That Monday, Health was held in the gym, with twice as many chairs as usual. Maka held the signed permission slip for the Sex Ed unit in her hand, as Jackie, Kidd, and Kilik signaled her, Soul, and Crona to a cluster of seats.

    "Why's Jackie here?" Crona asked. "Isn't she a sophomore?" they added, as Hiro, Patty, and Black☆Star entered the gym.

    "Spartoi over here!" Kilik called out, and the two lower grades of the team took their seats together in three rows of three. Soul, Maka, and Crona in the center row, Black☆Star, Kidd, and Kilik in front, and Patty, Jackie, and Hiro behind them.

    "I thought this school seperated Health in single grades," Soul said.

    "Yeah, but they're combining freshman and sophomore for Sex Ed this year due to a few too many teen pregnancies and impregnancies happening in ninth grade last year," Jackie said.

    "One guy was in my class!" Black☆Star exclaimed. "He was dating a girl from the public school we went against at the preliminary, and he ended up transferring there to support her. I wonder if he dumped her like an asshole, or he's still staying true to his word. The baby's gotta be born by now, right?"

    "Anyway, now they're teaching Sex Ed in freshman year, but just so our year doesn't end up not getting the class, we're being lumped with you guys," Hiro added. The last few students entered the gym and took their seats, soon before a familiar silver-haired substitute teacher entered on a swivel chair. _Oh God. No wonder Papa was hesitant to sign my permission slip._

    "Your usual teacher's got mono, so I'm filling in," Dr. Stein said. "I'm not gonna bother to take roll, because your names are all on your permission slips." _Way to get to the point_. Dr. Stein turned off the lights and set up a projector. "So first we're gonna watch an informational movie. It's a really basic one incase your parents still haven't talked to you about sex for some reason. Then we're gonna have a question and answer section and talk about safety. If you guys are gonna do it, do it right."

    "Thank goodness he's not one of 'those people'," Black☆Star said, as Dr. Stein turned on the projector and a movie entitled "So You Want To Learn About The Birds And The Bees?" began to play. A quick black-and-white screen flashed, reading "Copyright MCMLIII" with the studio information.

    "1953," Kidd muttered to himself. "This school has been using the same one since 1953," he said, burying his face in his hands for a second.

 

    The movie began with a scene where a man in a suit with neatly-combed hair started narrating about adolescence being a strange and difficult time with many trials. And changes to bodies. The atmosphere in the room became very uncomfortable. Almost excruciatingly so. The movie being in black and white did not change this. The man in the movie began to narrate about body changes for if you were a boy versus a girl, and Maka could hear Black☆Star snort a bit through his nose at that part. Kidd elbowed him and whispered something. From what Maka could tell despite the darkened room, Kidd was already blushing. And the movie hadn't even really started talking about sex yet. Then the man in the video said the word "penis", and a disappointingly large amount of the class burst out laughing, including several of the Spartoi members. At least forty

percent of them were in a fit because of one five-letter word.

    "Guys, be mature about this," Dr. Stein grumbled, as the movie continued by cutting to a diagram of two younger-looking humans in underwear. One was labeled "male"; the other "female".

    "What a disappointing rack," Hiro muttered from the row behind. Maka rolled her eyes. The movie continued its narration about the changes brought upon by sexual maturity, and the images changed to show the man and woman in adulthood, complete with every conceivable post-pubescent characteristic but exaggerated. Then the shot changed to a closeup of their crotches, still clad in the underwear.

    "Now let's take a closer look at what's inside and how it works," the narration stated, as anatomical diagrams of internal reproductive systems appeared on the projection. The narration continued about the names of the parts, before separating the scene to another view of the male and going into more detail about his parts. The shot changed to the external view of the female's system.

    "So that's what a v... one of those looks like," Soul muttered to himself.

    "You can say 'vagina', it's not a bad word," Maka replied with full confidence, before looking back at the projection. The scene changed again, back to the man in the suit. He began to describe intercourse in frank and technical terms, keeping a straight face unlike Patty, who Maka could hear struggling not to erupt into a gigglish fit.

    "And when the sperm fertilizes the egg and the resulting zygote implants itself into the uterus, the woman becomes pregnant," the narration continued, the images changing to a few pictures of pregnancy in various stages. "And over the next nine months, the zygote's cells start multiplying and multiplying until they can be called an embryo, and then the embryo keeps growing and growing until it becomes a fetus, and the fetus keeps growing until the woman gives birth and an infant is born."

    Then the narration continued on about another consequence to having unprotected sex, STDs. And their effects. In graphic detail, framed to be as disgusting as possible.

    "Now, the only truly effective way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is absti-"

    "No," Dr. Stein said, turning off the projector and turning the lights back on. "Jesus, that's bright. Okay, so while abstinence works in theory, it doesn't always work in practice," he continued, getting out a box containing a wrapped condom, a banana, and a package of hormonal birth control pills. "It's much better to be aware of various types of birth control and what to do incase you ever get pregnant than not to. There are more than two kinds of birth control out there, but these are the two kinds you're most likely to encounter, as well as the only ones I was able to procure for demonstration," Dr. Stein said, mumbling that last part to himself. "There's also at least one type of implant out there, and if you guys give your usual teacher a detailed explanation of what it is and how it works, she said she'll give you extra credit that could boost your grade for the whole class by ten percent, which is more than you think." _Translation: He must have no idea how it works and didn't research it before class,_ Maka thought, as Dr. Stein held up the pills "Now, hormonal birth control pills work by using hormones to trick your body into thinking it's already pregnant, enabling you to have sex without worrying about getting pregnant. They do not prevent STDs, so if you're on the pill, you still are at risk for infection," Dr. Stein said, putting the pills back in the box and holding up the banana and the condom. "Now a condom prevents both pregnancy and STDs, and is much easier to obtain than the pills," he added, unwrapping the condom and beginning to put it on the banana, "You put it on like this, and then you're ready to go. And if your partner ever says they're too big for condoms, instead of having unprotected sex, just go to the store with them and buy a larger size." Dr. Stein then took another condom out of the box and put it on his rather large fist, pulling it up to the point where it stretched over a sizeable portion of his forearm as well.

    "Oh, and this wasn't even the largest size in the store, and it can go over this much of my arm without getting too strained. This isn't very comfortable, but you get the idea of how stretchy these things are. Putting one of these on your genitals shouldn't be a problem, just don't buy them in the wrong size so they aren't uncomfortable. Safe sex shouldn't be uncomfortable," he said, emphasising the last point. "Any questions?"

    "How likely would it be for one of those to break?" Kilik asked.

    "They're designed to be pretty strong for what they are, so unlikely, but it's still possible," Dr. Stein replied. More hands went up all around the room.

    "Would I still need to use a condom if I was doing it in the butt?" a boy in the back asked.

    "To prevent STDs, yes," Dr. Stein replied. "This goes for all genders, use protection every time."

    "What if both you and your partner have vaginas?" Jackie asked. Maka jumped a bit in her seat, hearing Crona inhale sharply. She felt a foot tap against the side of her own under the table. It came from the left, meaning it was Soul's, not Crona's. Soul shot Maka a smug look. Maka rolled her eyes at him, and looked back toward Dr. Stein.

    "Okay, keep in mind I have no experience having this kind of sex," Dr. Stein said. "But from what I heard about it from a friend in college, there's multiple ways including: genital to genital, oral to genital, and penetration with fingers."

    The pigtailed girl Maka recognized from the party put her hand down in her lap, her brunette friend then raising hers. The blonde was blushing feverishly, her long, princessy hair billowing to her face. Dr. Stein didn't call on the brunette at first, and she put her hand down, whispering something about not remembering her question anyway. Maka wondered whether she should put her hand up. She didn't have a question immediately at the front of her mind, so she dug through her head trying to find one. _Think, think, there must be something I'm not too embarrassed to ask about._ A few people's hands went up around them, as Dr. Stein tried to answer their questions as best he could, most being about terminology definitions. And by "terminology", the quizzical students mostly meant slang. Slang that most adults thought private high schoolers wouldn't know, or shouldn't. Maka felt Crona tug at her sleeve. Her eyes darted to their face. Their flustered, trembling face.

    "You're nervous to ask a question too?" Crona whispered.

    "Mhm, but I'm gonna do it anyway," Maka replied, putting her hand up. Crona struck an encouraging expression as Dr. Stein called on Maka. Maka took a deep breath. "How can someone tell when they're ready to have sex?" she asked.

    "That is something you decide for yourself," Dr. Stein said, turning to the entire class. "Sex isn't just something just anyone can immediately dive into doing in a relationship straight away, especially at your age. Please, if any of you feel pressured by your partner or anyone else to do something you don't want to do, speak up about it. Let them know if you're not comfortable with what they're doing." Dr. Stein looked to see another raised hand, belonging to the brunette from earlier, who seemed to have remembered her question.

    "What's the most important thing we have to do when it comes to sex?" she asked.

    "Make sure _everyone involved consents_ ," Dr. Stein replied. "If you want to have sex with someone, and for some reason they don't consent, don't have sex with them, it's that simple. You'd be _committing a felony_ if you did, and there's no real excuse for it. No excuse, _whatsoever_." Some hands went up, and then went right back down after Stein glared at their owners. "For consent to actually count, all parties must be _sober, of age_ , and _enthusiastically_ willing. If they say no even once, drop the subject and don't try to change their minds about it. Don't be a bad person, respect people's boundaries."

    Stein looked around the room for anyone else that had their hand raised. _Is he going to wrap up questions?_ Maka thought, glancing at the clock. There were still a few minutes left before the bell rang. Patty raised her hand, Hiro raised his as well.

    "Is it morally okay to dump a girl if you get her pregnant because you don't want the baby?" Hiro asked, not even waiting for Dr. Stein to call on him.

    "If she decides to keep it, it would be better to stay with her," Dr. Stein replied. "It would be your kid too, you know."

    "What would happen if one of us got pregnant?" Patty asked.

    "Well, there are three options most people take in the case of an accidental pregnancy," Dr. Stein began. "They either carry to term and keep it, carry it to term and put it up for adoption, or have an abortion. All of those options are up to the person who got pregnant to decide, and if it's not you, it's not really your business what they choose," he said."I actually know someone who went through a teen pregnancy. He and his then-prom date forgot protection and decided to chance it because it was prom night and they already were in the hotel room."

    "Then what happened?" Black☆Star asked.

    "He got her pregnant," Dr. Stein replied. "Since they were both eighteen at the time and they feared what their parents would say, they went to Vegas for a shotgun wedding officiated by an Elvis impersonator a month later. I was invited as a witness." By this point, a majority of the class was enthralled by Dr. Stein's story. "So they carried the pregnancy to term, and had a girl. My friend stayed home to raise her while his wife studied law," Dr. Stein continued on with. _This somehow seems similar to my parents. Too similar,_ Maka thought. Was Dr. Stein talking about them, and by extension, her?

   "But he regretted that he was never able to live the life of a bachelor, and while his wife was away, he started having affairs. For the longest time, the daughter was the only thing keeping the family together, until her mother couldn't take it anymore and divorced her husband when their daughter was about twelve." _This is the exact story of my parents._ "So moral of the story: use protection or you could very well ruin a shotgun marriage that was never meant to be in the first place."

    Maka raised her hand. She knew the truth already, but she did not want her family used as an example story to warn the class.

    "Yes, Maka?" Dr. Stein asked.

    "Was that story my parents?" Maka asked. The bell rang.

    "Well, look at the time, I gotta go," Dr. Stein replied, pushing off out the door on his swivel chair. Through the crack in the door, Maka could see Spirit standing in the hall with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He put a hand on the swivel chair, stopping Dr. Stein in his tracks.

 

    "Stein!" Spirit exclaimed. "Why did you tell them that story?" he asked. Dr. Stein looked up from where he sat with a completely straight face. Before Maka could hear his reply, she was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.

    "Maka, was that story Dr. Stein told at the end about your family?" Jackie asked her in a low voice. Maka got up from her seat and slung her backpack around her shoulders.

    "Yeah," Maka replied, clutching the straps of her backpack. "Don't worry, I already knew about the whole thing beforehand, Mama told me shortly after the divorce."

    "Still, don't let it get you down," Jackie said. "I'm sure both your parents still love you despite it."

    "I know," Maka replied. "Papa tells me every chance he gets, and even though Mama hasn't said it in a long time, she still shows it by working so hard every day to support me," she said.

    "You sure?" Hiro asked. "There's already been one unloving mother this year, what if there's been two this whole time?"

    "Don't compare Ms. Albarn to Ms. Gorgon," Kidd replied. "There's a difference between someone who doesn't say 'I love you' every day and an outright abuser," he said.

    "Yeah, I'm sure Mama isn't a bad person," Maka added. "That's all I'm going to say on the subject." Maka looked down to where Crona was sitting, noticing a slight apprehension in their eyes. _Probably because Hiro and Kidd were talking about their mother_ , she thought, watching them get up from their seat and pick up their bag. They gave Maka a doubtful look, but held back in saying what they were thinking.

    "Okay," Hiro said. "We have practice next anyway, so we should get going before we're late."

    "Not like Mr. Albarn's gonna get done talking with Dr. Stein anytime soon," Kilik argued, writing down a few things in his notebook. He closed it up before putting it back in his bag. Black☆Star put his arm around Kilik and grinned. "What's with that look?" Kilik asked, cracking a slight smile of his own.

    "Wonder if he'd mind if we're late for practice?" Black☆Star asked, other kids from the class getting up and leaving around them all.

    "Get a room, you two," Hiro groaned, walking off from the group.

    "What's his problem?" Black☆Star asked.

    "It's probably because he's still single, since he still gripes about it online," Patty guessed, pulling out her phone. "Wanna see the highlights?"

    "Not particularly," Maka replied, reaching her left hand out to the side and brushing her fingertips against Crona's slender index finger. They tensed up a bit, before noticing that it was Maka's hand that brushed against theirs, at which point they no longer seemed to mind _._

    Crona then held on to Maka's hand, running their thumb across the back of her hand. Maka smiled, her expression amplified by the residual fluster from the class. Around her and Crona, Soul, Kidd, Jackie, and Patty started walking off out the door to practice. Maka and Crona soon followed to join them.


	26. Chapter 26

    The calendar read Friday, April First. Maka woke up at her mother's house with no pranks pulled on her. In fact, her mother wasn't even home, a note on the fridge reading _"I had to come into work early, one of my associates has a difficult client. You know how it is, being a criminal defense attorney and all. Signed, Mama."_

    "If this wasn't the tenth time this happened this year, I'd have thought that was a prank," Maka said, packing herself a lunch and heading off to school.

 

    She fell victim to two pranks that day at school, a fake love confession from Soul that ended in a water balloon being tossed in his face (He blamed Black☆Star for it, but Black☆Star swore it was Crona's doing. They denied it, saying they didn't even own any water balloons), and Black☆Star putting hot sauce in her lunch while Patty distracted her. Towards the end of the day, she returned to the freshman locker hall to stash her bag inside. She did not want to leave her bag out in the open today. Maka took out a letter from her locker and starting shoving it in the odor vents of Soul's.

    "What's that?" Crona asked, walking up to Maka.

    "It's full of glitter," Maka replied, pushing the rest of the envelope through. "Soul's gonna be so pissed trying to get it out of his clothes, skin, and hair." There was a slight papery tearing sound.

    "Or the inside of his locker," Crona said. Maka gave them a "don't worry, this is also part of the plan" look. Crona didn't seem fully convinced. "I'm surprised nobody's tried to get me this year, I thought for sure Ragnarok would by now," they continued with. "I haven't seen him all day."

    "That's for the better," Maka said. "Wonder if his idea of a prank this year was to deliberately not run into you all day to make you think he was up to something?"

    "Doubt it," Crona replied. "This is the first time since I was in first grade that we're in the same school, of course he'd have taken advantage of that." Just then, Crona's phone began to vibrate in their pocket. They picked it up and checked the caller ID. "Look who it is," they said, showing Maka. Ragnarok's name and picture took up the screen, and Crona tapped the "accept call" button and held their phone to their ear.

    "You're humoring him, aren't you?" Maka asked. Crona nodded.

    "Your one phone call?" Crona asked. "Come on, I'm not falling for that one two years in a row," they said. They pulled the phone away from their ear and prepared to hang up, Ragnarok's protests being heard via the other end.

    "He doesn't show up to school all day to set up a repeat?" Maka asked.

    "Not like he was actually arrested or anything," Crona replied, holding out their hand to Maka's. "Come on, we should head to practice."

 

    While Maka was heating up last night's leftovers for a dinner her mother wasn't likely to show up for anyway, she heard her phone buzz from the other counter. She walked over to see who was calling. Crona's name flashed onto the display, and Maka picked up immediately.

    "Turn on the local news, Channel 6, I made a huge mistake!" Crona gasped. _They sounded sincere, so this couldn't be a prank, could it?_ Trusting her datemate, Maka turned on the TV and changed it to the local news, which showed two mugshots, an older man Maka didn't recognize, and Ragnarok.

    "-stad and his 19-year-old son, Ragnarok, were arrested a few hours ago for possession and sale of multiple types of illegal drugs behind a Costco, and are currently awaiting trial," the anchorwoman said.

    "Oh my God," Maka said.

    "Ragnarok tried to make his one phone call to his cousin, who reportedly thought it was an April Fool's prank and hung up on him almost immediately," the anchorwoman continued. "His father called an attorney."

    "I'm such an idiot," Crona said.

    "No, no you're not," Maka reassured them. "I'm pretty sure he's done enough to warrant an arrest this year alone."

    "This year alone?" Crona asked. "I guess that's true. There's more."

    "More?" Maka asked in return.

    "We first met when I was two," Crona explained. "His father found out Lady Med... my mother, I'm trying to kick the habit of calling her that, anyway, Ragnarok's father found out that my mother lived in town, and drove by her house. I don't remember much from that day besides being pushed into the concrete driveway by a scrawny six or seven-year-old. Ever since then, he hasn't really ever been very kind to me."

    "He's been like this for as long as you can remember?" Maka asked.

    "Pretty much, yes," Crona replied. "And last February wasn't the first time he broke my nose. He also broke it when I was seven, and once when I was two weeks away from turning twelve, but those were both accidents. And he stole my bike when I was six, hit me so many times I lost count, put thumbtacks in my shoes, and in sixth grade he set an alarm on my watch to where it would wake me up every hour with full knowledge that I had no idea how to turn it off, dislocated my shoulder at a playground when I was nine, and I learned nearly every insult and swear word I know by him yelling them in my face."

    "Holy shit," Maka said, for lack of a better term.

    "Oh, I almost forgot," Crona added. "When he first got his motorcycle, he tested it out by running over my foot." The microwave went off, and Maka steadied her phone with her shoulder while she went to get dinner. She removed the steaming potato-and-chicken stew and walked back to the dining room.

    "He should definitely stay in that cell for a while," Maka said, setting her meal down on the table. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked, before taking her first bite.

    "I hate that I think I'm gonna miss him," Crona replied. Maka could hear their voice get all choked up on the other end. "I shouldn't, but when someone's been in your life for so long... it's hard when they leave regardless of what they've done."

    Maka didn't know what to say about that, since the feeling was entirely foreign to her.

    "If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here," she said, voicing the first thing that popped into her mind.

    "Thank you," Crona replied. Maka could hear them sniffle a bit on the other end. "No, I'm not gonna cry this time, I'm going to be strong," they said.

    

    The next day came on what seemed to be a brighter note. Liz and Patty were going to take the Spartoi freshmen shopping for prom clothes that would not only blend in with the ones at the dance, but would look flashy enough for their performance. Maka adjusted her striped tie and her sweater vest. It was not the black one from her uniform, but a pleasant light yellow. She headed out to the driveway, and sat out on the front step. Waiting for them to pick her up, she began rereading the messages she and Crona exchanged when they were about to go to bed the night before, and the ones they exchanged first thing in the morning. _"I'm going to be okay, good night". "Good morning! Yeah, I'm going to be fine. Looking forward to this afternoon"_ _They'll be fine, Maka, you don't have to worry,_ she thought. A loud car horn pierced the quiet street, as a minivan pulled up in front of Maka's house. The driver's side front window rolled down to reveal Liz in a red sleeveless crop top and cowboy hat.

    "Why are you wearing a miniskirt with combat boots?" Liz asked. "Laundry day?"

    "Are you going to take me to the store or not?" Maka asked in return, opening one of the back side doors. Patty was sitting in the passenger seat, matching outfits with her sister and messing with the radio. There was a row of two seats behind them seating Soul and Kidd, leaving an empty row of three seats in the back for Maka to pick whichever one she liked.

    "Hey," Soul said, giving a small wave.

    "Hey," Maka replied, taking the window seat directly behind him and buckling her seatbelt. Kidd glanced at her, lifting his hand up a bit and put his hand in his lap. Liz started the minivan again and began driving out of the subdivision.

    "It's fine, it'll be fixed in a few minutes," Kidd muttered to himself. "So what store are we going to?" he asked Liz.

    "There's this really high-end prom store downtown," Liz replied. "Patty and I are hoping we can afford something on the clearance racks while you rich kids go get your full-priced stuff that costs more than most people make in a month."

    "I'll cover the difference if you two go over your budget," Kidd said.

    "Thank you!" Patty exclaimed. "You're a lifesaver."

    The minivan soon arrived at Kilik's house. Soul shot him a quick text as Patty slammed on the horn again. Kilik walked out the front door, Fire and Thunder in tow. Maka could see an older woman, most likely Kilik's grandmother, walking over to a window. Kilik gave Fire and Thunder each a hug, and then hugged them both one more time before he walked over to the others. He opened the door opposite Maka, saying one last goodbye to Fire and Thunder before he got in.

    "Kidd, what's with the full suit?" Kilik asked, sitting down in the middle seat. "Overdress much?"

    "You look underdressed," Kidd replied, looking at Kilik's T-shirt and armwarmers.

    "You don't even need to go prom shopping, just wear that, Kidd," Kilik said.

    "This isn't a prom tuxedo," Kidd stated like it was obvious.

    "Wait, there are multiple types of tuxedo?" Maka asked, as Liz turned another corner to Miss Mjolnir's house.

    "Wait, you and Miss Mjolnir live in the same subdivision?" Soul asked Kilik.

    "Small world," Kilik replied, looking like this was new information to him as well. Maka texted Crona that everyone was there to pick them up, but she then saw that like her, they were already out on the driveway. They looked rather gloomy, and their plain black dress didn't help. It was long and covered them all the way down to the ankles, the only remarkable thing about it being an oversized set of white cuffs and a matching collar.

    "Whose funeral are you going to?" Soul asked. Maka kicked his seat.

    "I'm not going to a funeral," Crona replied, taking the one remaining spot in the minivan, the window seat on the right. "I just wanted to wear my favorite dress."

    "It's really nice!" Maka beamed. Crona smiled a little, putting their seatbelt on before Liz started the minivan again. Liz drove everyone out of the subdivision and down the side roads, the scenery of Death City a backdrop to her whim. Maka stared out the window at the white buildings, their appearance as if they belonged somewhere in a classical town in Europe, not out in the deserts of Nevada, USA. The soft thumping of the tires against the cobblestone road kept her alert, but it was not like she wouldn't be, with Patty not being able to pick a radio station or a volume. This persisted until the minivan was about three feet from the parking lot.

    "Oh, come on!" Patty groaned. "Finally there's ONE good song and we're already here."

    "I hate it when that happens," Soul added, as Liz parked in a relatively close parking space. Everyone got out of the minivan and walked to the storefront. There were dresses and suits displayed on mannequins in the windows, arranged in an elegant manner and posed in a way that beckoned customers to the store's front doors.

 

    The inside of the store was arranged by designer, not by whether or not the articles of clothing in question were dresses or suits. The dresses fluffed out like blooming flowers, creating a sea of colors throughout the store. There was a corsage section taking up a sizable portion of a wall by the checkout counter, with its own section attendant. Tucked off in the back were the fitting rooms and a hall which presumably led to the restrooms. Maka's first impression of the place was that it looked rather huge and extravagant for a store dedicated to just proms, but in a way, it was beautiful.

    "Okay, what's our plan?" Kidd asked. "Since the dresses and suits are mixed, it raises the question of whether we'll split up or stay together."

    "Depends on what everyone's going to get," Liz replied. "Patty and I were going to check to see if this place has a clearance rack first because this place's prices are several months' worth of what our dads make in a year, and my tuition's enough of a strain on them."

    "I'm gonna buy myself a suit, and a pair of matching corsages for me and Black☆Star," Kilik said.

    "Just a suit for me, I'll come back here for a corsage if I actually get a date," Soul added.

    "I was just thinking of buying one dress for simplicity's sake, maybe a second if I find another that really speaks to me," Maka said.

    "I'll get whatever works, I guess," Crona added, looking at a collection that contained both suits and dresses.

    "Sis and I are going to go on ahead, we'll meet you at the fitting rooms!" Patty exclaimed, grabbing Liz's arm and pointing with her other hand off in a random direction. She and Liz walked off for a minute, before coming back with heavy expressions on their faces.

    "They don't do clearance racks here until after prom season's over," Liz said, defeated. "How's your browsing going?"

    "These three suits look the same, I could literally buy any of them and it won't make a difference," Kilik replied, looking at three presumably identical jet black suits which were listed as three different designs.

    "These ones are pastel," Maka said, pointing to another display.

    "I'm gonna try this one on as a joke," Soul said, picking up a pastel yellow tuxedo from the collection. He then picked up a few suits in more normal colors to hide it with. Maka looked over at a dress that caught her eye. It had a white bodice and a long flowy tulle skirt in pastel pink. She walked over to it in hopes she could find one in her size to try on, but of the three left in stock, the smallest was still about as long as she was tall. _It would look prettier on Tsubaki or Crona anyway,_ Maka thought, putting it back. _Come to think of it, the skirt matches their hair color exactly. Maybe that's why it caught my eye._

    "Trust me, you aren't going to look good in that shade of yellow," Liz said to Patty, who was holding something incredibly hideous. "It's literally the color of processed cheese." Liz turned away from Patty and picked up a cherry-red dress with a heavily bedazzled neckline. "You'd look a lot better in this."

    "That one's pretty, but those are real crystals on the neckline," Patty replied. "I'd be pretty much wearing your tuition."

    "Everything's expensive here!" Liz exclaimed, "And Kidd'll help us out, so it's not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be... holy crap, you're right," she added, looking at the price tag before putting the dress back and forgetting she ever saw it. Maka looked back to the displays at a blue dress that slowly faded down to black at the hem. She checked the sizes, and found that yet again, even the smallest size was longer than she was tall.

    "How tall do they expect teens to be?" she grumbled to herself.

    "You could always have someone alter it," Soul said, walking past Maka to where Kilik stood.

    "I guess," Maka replied, looking back at another section. She saw several that looked knee-length on the mannequins, and if they were knee-length on those mannequins, they were likely to be halfway down her calves. Definitely long enough that she would not have to worry about someone saying they were too short and kicking her out, but not so long she'd trip and fall onstage during the performance. That was what she worried about most, especially since it had been decided ahead of time she and Tsubaki would be reprising their _"Walking On Sunshine"_ performance (with less flashy choreography). She saw a half dozen dresses that she liked in the section, picking them up and laying them across her arm to carry.

    "Okay, just have to try these on..." Maka said, never finishing her sentence. She meandered over to the rest of the group to see if any of them also were ready to head to the fitting room. All three of the boys had gathered for themselves a few suits, and the Thompson sisters each had a few dresses they were interested in, Liz holding a suit as well.

    "Ready to go try stuff on?" Liz asked the group.

    "I still haven't found anything yet," Crona replied. Patty's face lit up, and she started grabbing a bunch of clothes. "And now I'm worried," Crona muttered to themself.

    "Don't worry, we'll get other stuff you actually would like," Soul said, grabbing a dress from the rack.

    "Um, you don't have to..." Crona began, giving Maka a nervous glance. Maka stepped away from the pink and white dress that caught her eye earlier. "Well, maybe that one could work, but the rest, I don't know."

    "We have all day, you can try on a few," Patty said. Crona sighed, picked up something black from another display, and walked back over to Maka's side.

 

    After Patty was done picking up various different prom outfits, the group headed over to the fitting rooms. Their entryway led to a row of ten cutout spaces with curtains in front of them. There were no signs other than "Fitting Rooms" and "Take as much time as you want, but don't bother other customers."

    "That's... surprising," Soul said, noticing the signs. "So does this mean we're all gonna have to change clothes in the same room?"

    "We only had a room divider between us at the preliminaries, this is about the same in terms of privacy," Kidd added. "I'd like to establish a rule that we absolutely CANNOT open anybody else's curtains unless they're stuck in something and asking for a specific person. This goes for everybody."

    "That's a good rule," Maka echoed, handing Crona the pink and white dress. She then went behind one of the curtains. The fitting room inside was like any other department store fitting room; a mirror with a small bench underneath, and a few hooks on the wall for hanging up merchandise. Maka hung up all but one of the dresses she picked out, and tried on the first, a pastel yellowish-orange dress that flowed down just below the knee. She looked at herself in the mirror. _I love this one already,_ she thought, swinging her hips around to see how the skirt twirled.

    "Oh dear God," Soul said from a few stalls over. "Guys, I'm gonna come out and show you this, it's hideous." _I bet it's the pastel yellow one_ , Maka thought, walking out of the fitting room at the same time as Soul. She held back laughter. Soul had the same expression on his face. Kidd peeked out from his curtain and chuckled a bit. Also curious, Liz and Kilik walked out from their fitting rooms, the latter not wearing a shirt.

    "Dude, you look like 1985 had a baby with scrambled eggs," Kilik said. That description made Maka burst out into laughter. Patty and Crona peeked out to see what was going on, Patty soon reduced to giggles.

    "Go change before you kill her," Liz said, walking back in her fitting room.

    "All right, all right," Soul replied, walking back in his. "I'm not buying this one, by the way."

    "You better," Maka said, walking back in to try on a different dress. This second one had a sweetheart neckline and gradated from a soft pastel pink to a darker mulberry shade. Despite being the right length for her legs, it was too loose for her waist and too roomy in the bust, which was a huge problem with a neckline like that. So she immediately put it back on the hanger and tried on Dress Number Three. Dress Number Three was a deep pine green with matching lace sleeves and a few sparkles on the neckline. It looked pretty on the display, but Maka felt it did not suit her in the slightest once she looked at it in the mirror. She shook her head no, and tried on the fourth dress. It was a rich chocolate brown with a skirt that fluffed out and a small diamond-shaped cutout on the back. Maka turned around to see how much the cutout revealed. Just the middle of her back. _This one's actually really cute._ She pulled back the curtain to show everyone else. Liz was the only one out, wearing the suit she picked out.

    "Whoa," Maka said. "Liz, you look so cool!"

    "Thanks," Liz replied. "I'm not sure whether or not I should go with it, since I already found two dresses I like."

    "Just wear the suit to one of the proms and one of the dresses to the other," Soul said, walking out in a black suit with very thin white vertical stripes on it.

    "I can't afford to," Liz sighed.

    "I'll pay for it," Kidd said, walking out in a white tuxedo. "You don't even have to pay me back."

    "Wow, really?" Liz asked in disbelief. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, hugging Kidd for a second before letting him go. Patty walked out wearing a version of the second dress Maka tried on but in her size.

    "I'm surprised, Patty," Maka said. "You pulled that dress off a whole lot better than I did."

    "Oh, you tried this one too?" Patty asked. "I think I'm gonna buy it."

    "It's really cute on you," Liz said. Patty grinned. "And Maka, yours looks good, but are you sure you really want to go with brown?"

    "Shit, I'm definitely gonna have to buy this one," Kilik said from inside his fitting room. A button rolled out from underneath the curtain, and he walked out to catch it. "Well, at least it fits well and looks good," Kilik said, picking up the wayward button.

    "How many more do you guys have left?" Soul asked.

    "Three," Kidd replied.

    "I have to decide between those two dresses," Liz said. "Hang on, I'll go model them for everyone."

    "Two after this one," Maka added.

    "I still have about nine," Crona said from inside their fitting room. "Why did you guys pick out so many?" they asked, walking out in the pink and white dress Maka picked out. Maka gasped, her mouth forming a smile. Just as she first thought, the skirt complemented Crona's hair perfectly, and the bodice, having a high neckline, ensured they would not show off anything more than they were comfortable with. And they looked absolutely gorgeous. A million cheesy metaphors came to Maka's head, but she did not dare to voice any of them, as they were very embarrassing.

    "You look amazing!" Maka exclaimed, walking up to Crona and clasping their hands.

    "So do you," Crona replied.

    "But not together, your balance is extremely off," Kidd said, butting in. "The pastels paired with that deep brown do not complement each other in the slightest, in fact, it looks horrible."

    "Who asked you?" Maka asked. "Besides, I haven't even finished trying on everything yet," she said, letting go of Crona and putting her hands on her hips.

    "I liked the yellowish one you had on in the beginning," Crona said, pulling their curtain back open.

    "I'll keep it in mind," Maka replied, stepping back in her fitting room to try on the last two dresses. The first was a deep magenta, but it was too form-fitting for her comfort. She wanted to be able to move and perform, and this one was almost restrictive. And the last dress was a flowing silver skirt below the waist, with a thin sliver of gray fabric nearly coated in sparkles to form the torso and sleeves. This was another "prettier on the display than on her" dress. Regrettably, she did not show the others, instead changing back into the yellowish dress to see how it complemented with the ones Crona was trying on. She carried the other five dresses out

to the rack of "definitely nots" that would be sorted back among the inventory after they left.

    "Okay, so here's the deep red," Liz said, walking out in a vaguely familiar-looking red dress.

    "That looks almost like what you wore at the steak dinner the night before State," Patty replied. "Just save money and wear that."

    "No, it has a completely different neckline," Kidd argued.

    "Yeah, but other than that," Soul said, putting every suit but the one with the stripes at the rack, marking his decision. Kilik walked back out in his regular clothes, putting every suit except the one with the busted button at the rack, right on top of Patty's rejects. Liz checked herself in her mirror.

    "They are pretty similar," she said, pulling back the curtain. "I'm gonna go try on the other one."

    "Why won't this one cover everything?" Crona asked from behind their curtain. "None of you come back here," they said. Maka sat down on a bench with Soul, who was texting his parents.

    "You're wearing that dress again," Soul said, noticing Maka.

    "It was the best of the bunch," Maka replied, looking down at the gradation. Kidd walked out in his regular clothes, neatly putting everything except the white tuxedo in the reject pile.

    "Okay, what about the peacock one?" Liz asked, stepping out of her fitting room. The dress in question was bright blue at the bust, tightly hugging her frame and fading into a more greenish shade to the hem of the skirt, which had fake peacock feathers across the back as a train.

    "Impressive, but how are you going to perform in it?" Maka asked. "It's form-fitting down to the ankles and the train'll be a hazard to everyone else. It's still incredibly gorgeous, though."

    "Oh right, I'm still performing," Liz replied, looking disappointed. "But I love this dress," she said to herself, looking at it one more time in the mirror. Crona walked out of their fitting room, dumping every dress that was sparkly, too brightly colored, or low-cut/had any cutouts at all into the reject pile. Which was all the ones they were given except for the one Maka handed them. _They're choosing my dress,_ Maka thought, blushing a bit.

    "Is that everything?" Kilik asked. "Because I'm going to go ahead to the corsages."

    "I still have one more thing," Crona replied, walking back into their fitting room. "You can go on ahead," they said. Kilik nodded in understanding, and walked out of the fitting rooms with his chosen suit in hand. Crona closed their curtain. Maka heard a ping from her phone and took it out to find Spirit had messaged her.

     _"Maka when are you coming back here?"_ his message read. _"Remember, you're going to my house tonight."_

    "Oh, that's right," Maka said, letting Spirit know that she had to go back to her mom's and pick up her stuff first. She heard the curtain reopen, and Crona walked out wearing a well-tailored black suit. They adjusted the collar, glancing around the room here and there. Maka immediately put her phone down and hurriedly brushed her bangs aside. _Oh wow, they look... holy crap I am at a loss for words._

    "Oh my God, you look great!" Maka exclaimed. "I'm almost at a loss for words right now," she said, looking up at them with a smile.

    "Really?" Crona asked, turning around to look at themself in the mirror again. "I've never actually been able to wear one of these before," they said. "She'd never have let me, so since she's gone, I wanted to try it for a change."

    "You look great," Liz said, walking out of her fitting room and putting everything but the suit at the rack.

    "You and them could be suit buddies together, Sis!" Patti chimed. Liz laughed.

    "That would be great," she said. "What do you say, suit buddy?" she asked Crona.

    "Yeah, okay," Crona replied, nodding their head a bit. "Suit buddy."

    Liz beamed.

    "We're gonna kill it next week," she said, holding her hand out. Crona seemed confused as to what gesture Liz was inviting for, and hesitated for a second before just grasping on to her hand. Liz looked surprised.

    "That's not what you meant, was it?" Crona asked, pulling their hand back.

    "No, no, it's fine," Liz replied. She glanced over at Maka. Maka got up from her seat and walked over to where they were standing. "You're fine," Liz said.

    "So, is this what you're gonna be wearing?" Maka asked Crona.

    "I think so," Crona replied, looking back to the mirror one more time.

 

    After everyone changed back to their regular clothes, they all walked out, picks in hand, to the corsage area, where Kilik had picked up two blue ones the color of Black☆Star's hair.

    "You guys got everything?" he asked.

    "Yeah, we're about ready to check out," Maka replied.

    "I hope if I get a date they get that corsage," Patty said, pointing to a pink one that matched her dress perfectly.

    "If neither of us gets a date before Thursday, I'll come back here, buy that exact corsage, and we can go as friends," Soul said.

    "That sounds like it would be fun!" Patty exclaimed. "Heck, let's do that right now," she added, grabbing the pink corsage off the rack.

    "All right," Soul said, pleasantly surprised as the group walked over to the checkout counter and individually purchased their stuff. "I can't believe I'm gonna be taking a cheerleader to prom," Soul said to himself as everyone exited the store.

    "Don't get me pregnant, as much as I like Maka, prom night babies are not what I want," Patty warned Soul in a half-joking tone.

    "Hey!" Maka said, playfully pushing Patty's arm.

    "Just kidding," Patty said.


	27. Chapter 27

 

  Maka's mother finished brushing out Maka's hair, and instead of styling it, she let it hang free, adding only a few pins to the sides of her bangs.

    "I can't believe you're going to junior prom in freshman year," she said, fluffing out the sides a little. "You really shouldn't be dating boys that much older than you." Maka felt a little disheartened at this. _How could Mama not know that I'm going because Spartoi's performing? And I know that when I told her about Crona and I she was making dinner, but she can't have completely not paid attention._

    "I'm dating Crona, not some older boy," Maka said. Her mother took a step back from the mirror.

    "Oh, that's right, how could I forget?" she asked. "Here, let me touch up your makeup," she said. Maka sat in the chair as her mother finished touching up a few spots until the doorbell rang.

    "They're here!" Maka exclaimed. Her mother walked off to get the door, Maka soon following behind. Maka stood at the edge of the stairwell as her mother opened the door. Crona entered through the doorway, their hair looking like they tried to style it, but in the end, they gave up. Maka walked up to the doorway.

    "Should we go?" Crona asked. "Everyone's waiting outside," they added, pointing to a limousine where one of the windows was open, with a waving Black☆Star leaning out.

    "In a minute, I'm sure Mama wants a picture of us," Maka replied, looking to her mother. Maka's mother sighed, and took out her camera phone.

    "Just stand by the stairwell," she said. Maka and Crona walked over to the stairs and tried to get into a decent pose. Maka's mother pulled her phone from her bag, and held it up. The click of its camera was heard exactly once. "Okay, that turned out good enough, you kids have fun," Maka's mother said, ushering Maka and Crona out the door and closing it.

     "I, uh, your hair's really pretty, did you do it yourself?" Crona asked, as they walked with Maka down to the limousine.

    "Thank you, Mama did it for me," Maka replied, opening the limousine's door. There was spacious seating in the back, where Black☆Star and Kilik, Tsubaki and Liz, Soul and Patty, and Kidd all sat. Liz and Patty were wearing the dresses they picked out the week before, all the boys were in suits, and Tsubaki was wearing a deep blue dress with a crystal-decorated bodice. She looked like the stars in a beautiful night sky, a perfect contrast to the sunny yellowish-orange dress Maka wore. They'd look absolutely wonderful on stage together again.

    "Driver, take us to Shibusen Academy," Kidd said, as Maka and Crona took the two remaining seats next to each other and buckled up.

    "You two excited?" Tsubaki asked, trying to start up conversation.

    "Heck yeah!" Maka replied, clenching her fists in front of her chest. Crona nodded their head and set their hands in their lap, as the limousine started driving off out of the subdivision.

 

    They pulled up at the front of the school and walked up to the stairs. Tsubaki and Liz scanned the crowded parking lot for the rest of Spartoi, and Liz found them easily by noticing a sharp glare off Ox's head from a streetlamp. The groups signaled to each other and soon rejoined, making their way to the gym, which was decked out in blacks, whites, and grays, the only colors being from some students' dresses. Music was playing, and the prom was in full swing. The only empty part of the gym was a stage where Spartoi was due to perform shortly.

    "Woah, it's huge!" Patty exclaimed, grabbing Soul's hand and dragging him out into the crowd.

    "There she goes," Liz said. "Tsubaki, should we have a dance or two before the performance?"

    "There's nothing I'd like more," Tsubaki replied, taking Liz's hand and leading her out to the dance floor.

    "Kilik, could you get me some punch and meet me by the stage?" Black☆Star asked. "There's something I have to do real quick," he said, pointing out to the DJ booth.

    "Yeah, sure," Kilik replied. Black☆Star kissed him on the cheek and dashed off towards the DJ.

    "So much for reviewing our set list," Hiro, who arrived single and was bitter about it, grumbled. "I'm gonna go see what flavor punch they have," he said, begrudgingly walking off. Kim and Jackie soon split off to dance as well, leaving Crona, Maka, Ox, Harvar, and Kidd.

    "Come on, let's enjoy prom for a bit before we perform," Harvar said, gesturing to Ox, who had a frown on his face and a slight slouch after Kim left with Jackie.

    "I guess," Ox replied, sighing deeply and over-dramatically. He walked off with Harvar towards a group of other single people. Kidd didn't join them, instead going off to look for Patty and Soul. Everyone seemed to have split up, with only two remaining at the door. _We were supposed to be united, a team. And now we've all split up._ She looked at Crona, and how they were rapidly looking around the room, pushing the tips of their index fingers together repeatedly.

    "Do you want to dance?" Maka asked, holding out her hand. Crona stopped fiddling with their fingers for a second and looked back down to Maka.

    "I'd like to... but I don't really know how," they replied, taking her hand anyway.

    "Neither do I!" Maka exclaimed, as the two of them walked away from the doors and made their way to an open spot by the stage. Familiar faces dotted it all around. By coincidence, Spartoi had all gathered here. The other couples were paired up and dancing with each other, with the single people filling the spots between. I guess we're still united after all. Black☆Star ran back to the group and took his cup of punch. He downed the whole thing in one sip and chucked the empty cup into a nearby trashcan. He let out a triumphant yell and began dancing with the others.

    "Guys, we really need to go over the set list, we only have twenty minutes until we perform," Hiro said.

    "Don't be a buzzkill," Kim replied. "We went over it all at practice yesterday. Maka's singing with Tsubaki, Soul's with me, Harvar's with Jackie, Ox is with Crona, Liz is with Kilik, you're with Kidd, and Black☆Star and Patty are gonna be our grand finale, and that's it. Set list has been gone over."

    "But-"

    "We're done, Hiro," Kim said, taking Jackie's hand and spinning her under her arm. Maka stepped in front of Crona to face them, unsure on how to begin. The music was upbeat, so she didn't have to worry about slow dancing, which was her weakest area, especially with the three-inch heels she was wearing on her mother's insistence. _"You don't want to be too short to dance with, Maka, your date's most likely going to be a lot taller."_ And she was right. Crona didn't look like they had grown much, but they were still six inches taller than Maka. (without her heels, which cut that height difference in half)

    The way the two of them danced together started off as kind of a mess. Both slowly becoming more in sync to each other, but not to the beat of the song. They were missing that entirely. If the group was a pair of hands, they were the two sore thumbs. But neither of them cared. The gym was big and crowded, surely nobody would notice two bad dancers among a slew of others with varying skill levels.

    "Sorry if I look bad, I'm terrible when I have to improvise," Maka said.

    "I'm a hundred percent sure I'm worse," Crona replied, cracking a smile. They danced together for a little while longer, until they tired themselves out and went to get refreshments.

    "I didn't see any cameras back there, so we're good," Maka said, scooping two cups of punch and handing one to Crona.

    "It would be pretty bad if that ended up on the Internet," Crona replied, taking a sip. "Ugh, what is this?" they asked themself, thoroughly disgusted by the punch but still drinking it anyway. Maka took a sip herself. It wasn't too bad of a flavor, just fruity and slightly tangy. But for some reason, whoever made the punch made sparkling punch. The fizzy texture surprised Maka a bit. Sparkling punch was not what she expected or was used to. She took another sip.

    "It's pretty good despite the texture," Maka said.

    "How the hell was Black☆Star able to drink an entire cup of this in one sip?" Crona asked. "Why is it like this?"

    "Someone used sparkling water in it," Maka replied. "Kind of an unusual choice, but it's not bad. Just carbonated."

    "This is what carbonated beverages are like?" Crona asked. _Oh my God, they've never had a carbonated beverage before._ "I guess you have to be raised on this stuff to enjoy it," they said. Maka nodded in agreement. She had those kind of beverages often throughout her childhood, and recalled it surprising her at first when she was little, but she did eventually grow to like it after a while. It was definitely an acquired taste, but one she was fond of acquiring.

    "I'll drink the rest of yours if you don't want it," Maka said. Crona's eyes lit up, and they handed her the rest of their punch. Maka poured the remainder of theirs into her cup and threw the empty one into the trash. Swirling around the cup for no reason other than the way the bubbles looked, she soon took a few slight sips before downing the rest in one gulp. The punch went down, fizzing in her throat as she watched the dancing crowd. Their movements were unique individually, but together, whether intentional or not, they created something whole, something beautiful. Maybe she was just feeling sentimental, or maybe that's how it truly was. Either way, she wanted to get back out there and join in for the last few minutes she could.

 

    "In five minutes, we're going to have a special live performance from the show choir club!" the DJ announced into his microphone, before starting to play one last song. Black☆Star pumped his fist in the air and let out a triumphant yell.

    "We should go ahead and start making our way to the stage," Liz said, waving to the others. Five minutes to get fourteen students to a stage and into formation was more than enough time, with the group awkwardly spending the last minute in formation, facing away from the crowd. Until the beginning of "Walking on Sunshine" began to play, and Maka and Tsubaki spun around, the layered skirts of their dresses fluffing out as they moved. Maka sang her heart out with Tsubaki yet again, loving every minute of it just as much as the last time. But in the middle, while Tsubaki was singing, she froze up, briefly forgetting the choreography. She and Tsubaki weren't going to do the dip move with their respective datemates this time, but there wasn't any replacement choreography planned. She looked over to Tsubaki and just mirrored her dance moves for the time being, hoping that would suffice. After all, she'd have to do this again the next night at senior prom, and quick thinking was to her advantage. In the end when they finished the number, the crowd went wild. Tsubaki and Maka took a quick bow before trading places in the backup formation with Soul and Jackie. They sang a rougher rock song that appealed to both their voices' strengths, until it was time to switch out to Harvar and Kim, who reprised "Summer Nights" together. Ox and Crona stepped out to the front, the former unusually looking more nervous than the latter. Since Ox's voice was piercing and nasal, he didn't have any true solos in their number,

instead having blended lines with Crona or any of the stronger voices in the backup. But even that didn't save him. Instead, when Crona sang alone, their voice made Ox look worse. They sounded like an angel, even despite faltering on a few parts towards the end. Soon Kilik and Liz took their places, doing a duet version of "Bad Reputation" and doing it with the incredibly well. Then Hiro and Kidd did their duet together, both boys harmonizing near-perfectly. Then Black☆Star and Patty made their way to the front of the stage for an upbeat finale that left the audience speechless. Cheers erupted through the gym floor as Spartoi lined up and took a bow.

 

    "Hyaa-haa! We were amazing!" Black☆Star exclaimed, walking last off the stage as Spirit and Principal Morte entered with two crowns and two envelopes. They made their way to the stage in Spartoi's place, Principal Morte delivering a few taps to the mic.

    "Attention, attention everyone, may I have your attention please?" he asked. "Mr. Albarn and I have finished counting up all the votes for junior prom king and queen, and would like all the nominees to come to the stage!" Several from the crowd, including Kim and Ox, made their way up onstage.

    "For prom king, our nominees are," Spirit began, "Arthur Boyle, Ox Ford, Rekka Hoshimiya, and Shotaro Kyokotsu. There was one write-in vote for Bla… a sophomore, but that vote has not been counted."

    "And the winner is..." Principal Morte announced, "Arthur Boyle!"

    A blond-haired boy walked up and accepted his crown, waving to the crowd. Ox scowled.

    "Thanks to everyone who voted!" Arthur exclaimed, before stepping off to the side.

    "For prom queen, our nominees are: Kim Diehl, Mana Hinoki, Mai 'Eternal Feather' Thi Hoang, and Kayoko Huang, no relation though the last name sounds similar," Spirit said. "And by a landslide, our winner is Kim Diehl!"

    Kim walked up to the microphone and accepted her crown.

    "Thank you for voting for me and have a great rest of your prom, everyone!" she exclaimed.

    "And as is tradition, the prom king and queen will now have a dance all to themselves," Principal Morte said, as the newly-crowned prom king and queen exited the stage and walked out onto the dance floor, a slow song playing. "Have a great rest of your night, everybody!"

 

    The next night began similarly yet dissimilarly from the last. Maka was at Spirit's house instead of her mothers, and instead of letting her hair flow free, Spirit was in the process of styling it for her. She noticed the way he twisted the braid around her head and set the rest in a messy bun, and how it looked almost familiar.

    "I didn't think I'd have to learn this style so soon," Spirit said, feeling sentimental. "It's the same one your mother wore back on our senior prom. You're her spitting image."

    "I..." Maka began, looking in the mirror. But instead of finishing her sentence, all she did was smile. _Just like Mama_ , she thought. The doorbell rang, and Spirit hurried down to get it. Maka looked at her reflection in the mirror for just a bit longer. _Mama would be so proud to see me like this._ Maka saw her phone by her, and switched it over to the front camera. She took a picture and sent it to her mom with the caption _"Just like you!"_ and a happy face emoji. Maka didn't get a reply right away, but at least her mother was going to see it eventually.

    "Maka, your date's here!" Spirit called out. Maka walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs, glancing over the banister and to the front door. Crona stood in the entryway wearing a long black dress Maka hadn't recognized. The dress's neckline nearly touched their chin, the sleeves went down to the base of their palms, and the skirt was formfitting up until the middle of their calves, where the extra fabric bunched up at the floor in a crumpled poof. Maka gasped.

    "It's a bit long, I know," Crona said.

    "It's gorgeous," Maka replied, approaching their side. "You look perfect."

    "No, you look perfect," Crona said. "Again," they noted, noticing how Maka was wearing the exact same dress she did the night before.

    "Okay, you two, let's get some pictures before you head off," Spirit said, "Stand over there by the fireplace," he added, taking out his phone. Maka groaned. Unlike her mother, Spirit would take a lot of pictures. He loved getting memories of his precious daughter, and tonight would definitely be no exception. Maka noticed how careful Crona was in their stride, nearly holding up their dress at some points. _They look so beautiful, but how are they going to dance, much less perform in that?_ They glanced at her with an awkwardly endearing smile, before getting into position for the picture. They first did the same stiff standing pose together that they did at Maka's mother's house. Spirit snapped the picture, looking disheartened. "Come on, you guys can act more natural than this, I won't bite," he said. A smirk crept across Maka's face for half a second, and she pulled

Crona into a dip, leaning in a bit so her face was mere inches from theirs. There were two gasps, a small and flustered one from Crona... and a big, shocked one from Spirit.

    "Not like that!" Spirit exclaimed. "Come on, don't go overboard until your actual senior prom."

    "Ugh, okay," Maka said. She and Crona got back into a more normal standing position, only this time, they held on to each other in a loose hug, Maka resting her head to Crona's shoulder. She glanced up at their face. _They're still blushing a bit._ Spirit took another picture.

    "Okay, now do a silly one!" he exclaimed. Maka swept Crona up off their feet, holding them princess style. The crumpled portion of their dress flopped out to where it almost touched back on the ground.

    "Oh my God," Maka said, looking down at the end of their dress. "Where did you find something this long, you're already so tall."

    "I'm only five foot six," Crona replied, as Spirit took the picture. _Only? How is five foot six an 'only'?_ The doorbell rang again, and Black☆Star yelled for them to get moving from the other side. Maka set Crona back down, their dress re-crumpling at the floor.

 

    The limo group was the same as last time. Like Maka, Patty was wearing the same dress, but Tsubaki and Liz were both wearing deep red dresses that nearly matched. (which was by pure coincidence. They thought it was actually really cute) Meeting up with the others wasn't hard, since they were waiting in the same spot.

    "Set list is the same, so we don't have to worry about tha....aa _aAAT_ ," Hiro said, looking at Crona's dress. "How the heck are you gonna perform wearing that?" he asked. Crona's face completely froze up.

    "Oh, right," they replied, walking off to the gym with Maka. The decorations were the same, the layout of everything was the same, the slated performance time was the same, even the music seemed to be the same. It was just the people that were different.

    "Okay, so just like last time, we have about twenty minutes to enjoy the dance, then we perform, got that?" Kidd asked. Everyone else made their affirmations, then found a place in the dance floor where they could all dance together.

 

    After Spartoi finished up their performance with surprisingly nothing beyond minor difficulties, the crowd went wild.

    "Thank you, thank you everyone!" Maka exclaimed, taking an extra bow to the crowd.

    "Any minute now," Black☆Star muttered to himself as everyone was getting down off the stage.

    "Any minute now for what?" Soul asked.

    "Oh, you'll see," Black☆Star said with a devious grin, before he and Kilik split off from the group to go dancing.

    "I'm a bit concerned," Tsubaki said.

    "Don't worry about it now, Tsu," Liz replied. "Let's just enjoy one more dance before they come in to announce prom queen." The two of them then split off to a different corner of the gym. Jackie and Kim then split off, then Patty and Soul, and then Hiro walked off to a group of girls who didn't look like they had any dates. Crona took Maka's hand and led her off to another place in the crowd away from Ox, Kidd, and Harvar. _It's just the two of us now,_ Maka thought.

    "Okay, the music's still upbeat," Crona said to themself. "We can handle making fools of ourselves for one song, right?"

    "Yeah, let's dance like nobody's watching!" Maka exclaimed, taking Crona's other hand. The music cut off right then as Spirit and Principal Morte got up on stage, saving Maka and Crona from possibly embarrassing themselves. They both sighed with relief.

    "May I have everyone's attention, please?" Spirit asked. "We're going to announce the senior prom king and queen now; will the nominees take to the stage?" Several people from the crowd, including Liz, walked up on stage, the boys on one side, girls on the other.

    "The nominees for prom king are: Emine Dokeshi, Takehisa Hinawa, Akane Hoshi, Akitaru Obi, and Clay Sizemore," Principal Morte said. "And our prom king is... Emine Dokeshi!"

    A tall, white-haired boy walked over to accept his crown. He didn't give any sort of speech, just stepped aside. He didn't look like he wanted to be here.

    "And the nominees for prom queen are: Lin Kinpar, Maki Oze, and Elizabeth Thompson," Principal Morte said. He took a long pause, during which the three girls started to become anxious. "And our prom queen is...Maki Oze!"

    A beautiful dark-haired girl walked up to the stage to accept her crown, and Liz looked disheartened. Principal Morte ordered a clearing to be made in the dance floor for the new king and queen to share their dance, and the other nominees cleared off the stage, Liz leaving last. Tsubaki immediately hugged her, and whispered something in her ear. Maka was too far away to hear it, but whatever it was made Liz smile and hug Tsubaki back. Maka put her arm around Crona's side, pulling them in for a semi-hug. Right now, the only people dancing were the prom king and queen, and it was obvious by the way they danced that they barely seemed to know each other. Their movements were too stiff and formal, lacking the carefree air two people exerted when they had more of a personal connection. The song faded out, and the DJ tapped his mic a bit.

    "We're going to slow things down a bit," he said. "So, um..." He looked at a sheet of paper. "grab your partner and make tonight something they'll talk about at your funeral," he said in true Death City fashion. The music started up again, softly and slowly. Maka skipped the slow dancing the night before, she and Crona instead choosing to hang out by the punch bowl with the single kids. But tonight she was going to try.

    "Should we?" Maka asked, subtly gesturing to the slow-dancing couples around them. "Come on, it'll be fun."

    "Wasn't it your idea to not do this last night?" Crona asked in return.

    "Oh, come on," Maka jokingly replied.

    "You have to lead, I have no idea how to," Crona said.

    "That makes two of us," Maka replied, intertwining the fingers of her right hand with the ones on Crona's left. They rested their right hand on her shoulder, she rested her left at their waist. Maka took the first step forward, careful not to step on Crona's dress. _Step forward, step back._ Their movements slowly began to correspond more and more. _Step in, step out._ The mechanics were simple, just stepping and swaying, but that was okay. Simple was all they needed. After all, just because something is simple doesn't mean it can't be good. It felt good to be this close, fingers intertwined and sharing the moment together. Even in a crowded gym, it felt like it was just the two of them without a care in the world. Gradually coming in closer and closer, to where their bodies almost touched. Neither wanted to hide it, neither wanted to hide the warm and fuzzy feeling from being so close. As the song faded out, and the gym was becoming dead quiet, Maka let go of Crona's hand and their waist, moving her arms up around their shoulders. Her high heels almost allowed her to bring her forehead to touch theirs. She could see the way they were smiling, and she could feel the way they began to hold her around the waist. Gazing into their eyes, Maka wanted to say something, it was on the tip of her tongue, but she was interrupted. By the beginning of a truly mood-killing song: _Tom Jones's "What's New Pussycat."_

    "What the hell?" Maka asked, looking over to the DJ booth.

    "Long live the Salt and Pepper Diner," Black☆Star said, walking by with two cups of punch in his hands.

    "But that was halfway across the country... oh no," Maka said.

    "What do you mean, 'oh no'?" Crona asked.

    "There was this comedian..." Maka started, before explaining the entirety of the skit, not noticing the transition to the second "What's New Pussycat". "Thankfully the DJ's using a computer program, so he's likely deleted the extra 'What's New Pussycat's from the queue so this doesn't happen." The song faded out, then began to play a third time. Maka could see a highly annoyed Spirit running to the DJ booth to have a talk with the redheaded boy behind it.

    "How long is this going to last?" Crona asked. Maka looked over her shoulder at the door. People were starting to leave, which gave her an idea.

    "Who cares, we're getting out of here," she said, starting to make her way out of the with Crona following close behind.

    "Solomon Evans!" Spirit yelled.

    "What, I didn't do it... BLACK☆STAR!" Soul shouted back.

 

    Maka and Crona made their way out of earshot from the gym and towards the choir room. Finally, somewhere quiet. Maka creaked open the door to find Jackie and Kim were kissing in the middle of the room, exactly where she and Crona stood on New Year's.

    "At least knock!" Kim snapped.

    "Sorry!" Maka replied, closing the door. "Choir room's off limits," she said to Crona.

    "Let's just leave them be," Crona said, meandering off down a different hallway, the one that lead to the auditorium. They stopped at the door to the stairwell that lead backstage. And knocked. There was no response.

    "Nobody's in here, maybe we can go inside." They tried the door, and it was locked. Maka sighed in frustration.

    "Of course it would be locked," she grumbled. "Come on, let's try some classrooms."

 

    To her luck, the first classroom door they found was unlocked, and the room unoccupied. Maka closed the door behind them, pulled down the shade, and turned on the light. She walked up in the empty space between the teacher's desk and the first row of student desks. It was the only open enough area in the entire room, despite being not too spacious on the whole. About three feet between the teacher's and students' desks and somewhere around twenty-five feet between the walls. And that was plenty enough for two people.

    "Shall we continue dancing?" Maka asked. "There's no music, but I can hum a tune for us."

    "I'd like that," Crona said. Maka put a hand on their shoulder and her other hand on their waist, and Crona did the same with her, just on the opposing sides. Maka started humming the tune of a soft classical song her mother loved listening to, taking quiet steps to match the beat. She closed her eyes, taking smaller steps as she hummed. Subconsciously, she and Crona kept closing the gap between them as they danced until by the end of the song, they were embracing. Maka rested her head on Crona's shoulder, holding it tightly. She wouldn't trade this moment for the world right now.

    "I love you," Maka whispered in their ear.

    "I love you too," Crona replied. Their embrace continued for at least another fifteen seconds, give or take a few ticks of the still-running wall clock. The only sound in the room was the ticking clock, but it felt somehow tranquil, a peaceful, steady rhythm. Maka and Crona partially broke off, their hands still on each other's elbows. They barely even said a word to each other, just gazing up and down, respectively, into each other's eyes. Maka was sure Crona could see the grin on her face, a grin from a girl who was so much happier here, alone with the person she loved, than she could ever be in a crowded gym playing the same old song over and over because _somebody_ thought it would be a good idea to pull a prank he saw in a comedy skit.

    "I'm glad we were able to find a place like this for ourselves," Maka said.

    "I'm glad too," Crona replied. "I probably couldn't take being in that gym much longer, especially not with _that_ playing."

    "Yeah, this is much nicer," Maka added, letting go of Crona's elbows and lowering her arms back to her sides. Crona brought up a hand to caress her face, using their other hand to brush a few hairs aside from their own.

    "We could make it even nicer than this," they said. Maka could instantly tell what they were thinking by their soft smile. They didn't even need to say it, but they still did. "Can I kiss you?"

    "You didn't even have to ask," Maka replied, leaning in to close the gap. She flung her arms around their shoulders, preferring not to keep them at her sides. As her lips pressed against theirs, she could feel them trying not to smile too much and unintentionally break the kiss. It failed, and they pulled back for a second. Crona covered their mouth for a second with their free hand, but it didn't hide their smile. They took a deep breath through their nose.

    "I wonder if someone's looking for us?" Maka asked out of the blue. "Or if they even realized we're gone?"

    "I don't care about that right now," Crona replied, leaning back in to kiss Maka again.


	28. Chapter 28

    The rec center on a Saturday afternoon. Again. The taxing preparations for Nationals were continuing to this point where Crona wondered if they could even bear this anymore. They had no time to relax. This kind of stuff being their worst problem at the moment would have been unthinkable to the Crona from the beginning of the year. Present day Crona figured they could handle it, but it was still physically taxing. They were handling practice fine so far, but they were tired. Just... tired.

    "Maka, you're doing amazing so far, but your pivot turn's just a teensy bit off," Spirit said, cutting off the music. "You need to time it better with the others."

    "All right," Maka grumbled. "Next time, don't sugarcoat it."

    "Yeah, we want to win Nationals, we can't do that even if we have a minor mistake," Hiro added in the most suckup-iest tone he could.

    "Put more stress on everyone, why don't you?" Soul asked.

    "Yeah, Nationals has our highest stakes yet, but we need to keep our stress levels about it low for our own sakes," Spirit replied, looking directly at Crona during the second half of his sentence.

    "Easy for you to say," Crona mumbled to themself. Spirit walked back to the docking station and restarted "Defying Gravity."

 

    Practice continued smoothly for now, both the team's vocals and dance were lining up how they should, nobody faltered with a word, and for once, Ox sang on key. Crona delivered the final few words just how they needed to, and just like that, this round of practice was over. Spirit clapped for the team.

    "I wanna see you guys doing just as great as that when we're onstage in Miami!" he beamed.

    "Hyaa-HA! We're unstoppable!" Black☆Star shouted. His enthusiasm was contagious, causing Crona to crack a slight smile. _Maybe Nationals wasn't going to be so bad after all._

    "Okay, we're gonna take a five-minute break, then we'll run through 'Footloose' again, all right?" Spirit asked. "I have to use the restroom," he said, walking off. Crona walked off to their bag to get their water bottle out, hearing their stomach growl as they zipped the bag open. It hadn't been like that since they were with Medusa.

    "That was odd," they said to themself, before quickly looking around the room. "Wonder if the others heard?" They got out their water bottle and began to take a sip.

    "Just like old times, right?" Hiro asked. Crona almost choked on their water. _Was he talking about my stomach?_ They set their water bottle down, noticing how it trembled in their hand. They took a deep breath. _I'll be fine, I'll be fine,_ they repeated in their head. They heard another small rumble. They dug through their bag, hoping there was a snack in there, hoping that it would quell their stomach for now, because it was starting to remind them about old times. They found nothing. Just like how it was back then. In that sad, boring room. Alone.

    "Stop, you're safe, you're fine," Crona said to themself. "You're not hungry, your nose is healed, you're gonna be fine." _Deep breaths, don't let this get too bad._ Their eyes turned back to the rest of the group. Hiro was looking at his tablet with everyone else surrounding him. Crona could hear another team's rehearsal coming from the tablet, just like how one of their opponents posted one before the preliminaries.

    "Oh, he was talking about that," Crona said, feeling a slight bit of relief now that they found Hiro wasn't mocking their trauma. They walked over to the others to look at the video and distract themself, still feeling on edge. Unlike the last time this happened, the team in the video wasn't faltering on purpose, they were really good to the point where it was intimidating. This just made them feel worse, everything welling up in their stomach. A rec center employee with a catering cart passed by the room, the smell of vaguely Mediterranean food wafting into the room. They caught the delicious aroma for only a second, it smelled almost like what they had in Greece during Christmas. Crona heard someone's stomach growl at a frightening volume. Their expression changed to shock as they realized it was from them.

    "What's going on out there that brought in Greek food?" Liz asked, walking away from the group to peek around the door. A thought forced its way into Crona's mind. _Don't even think about the food, you're not going to be able to get any. What's the point?_ "It's for a mythology group across the hall!" Liz called out, disrupting Crona from spiraling further into the old thought pattern they were trying to break. "Apparently today they're doing something on the story of Med-" Liz said, before cutting herself off. "Well, not the same one as the one we knew, but you know who I mean. " Medusa. _No, not that one, get her out of your head, you're fine!_

    "Crona, you're hyperventilating," Maka said.

    "No, I'm fine, everything's fine now, she's gone, he's gone, they're both in jail where they can't hurt me, I'll soon be having dinner once I get home, I haven't been yelled at in over a month, I'm okay," Crona replied. Liz looked horribly guilty. "Liz, I'm fine, it's not you who did this to me," Crona said to her. "You didn't set it off."

    "Set what off, what's happening?" Spirit asked, walking back in. Crona froze up for a second.

    "It's nothing," they said, still shaking. "Can we get back to p-practice?" they asked.

    "I'm not starting practice with you looking like you're about to go into a panic attack," Spirit replied.

    "You guys can start without me," Crona said, walking back to their bag. They sat down next to it, curling themself up in a ball. They felt a hand touch their shoulder, and flinched a bit, before looking up to see a concerned Maka looking back down at them.

    "What's wrong?" Maka asked. Crona opened their mouth to answer, but no words came out. Maka knelt down next to them, moving her hand to brush Crona's bangs away from their eyes.

    "I..." Crona began, grabbing on to Maka's hand, hoping that holding it would bring them some comfort and make this end sooner. They looked over Maka's shoulder to see everyone else was staring at them. All those eyes did nothing to calm them down. "I don't know what's wrong! This... this is just happening!"

    "I didn't think this kind of stuff would be a problem anymore," Hiro said. "Ms. Gorgon and Ragnarok are both gone, and Crona has a girlfriend now, so shouldn't they, you know, not be panicking and stuff? That should have been cured by now."

    "Mental illness doesn't work like that!" Kidd snapped. "It doesn't care whether or not you're actively being traumatized or not, and it can't be cured with romantic love."

 

     _"She only sees you as a project, something to be cured... Only feigning to love you because she doesn't want a downer in her class, or Spartoi."_

 

    "Get out of my head!" Crona shouted, waving an arm out in front of them. They knew what Medusa said that evening wasn't true, it couldn't be. "Maka, please tell me it isn't true! You don't think of me as a project, do you?"

    "Of course not," Maka replied. "You're a person, not a project. I love you, not some imaginary ideal of you," she said, holding on to Crona's trembling hand even tighter. "And that's not going to change, ever." Crona looked up into Maka's sincere eyes. She didn't look calm, still stricken with worry. Crona didn't know what to say to her. If they couldn't even calm themself down, how could they help her? They looked down to their knees, stricken with guilt that was slowly replacing their fear.

    "It's really pathetic," they said in a shaky voice. "I've already been stressed enough as it is with practice, and now I let myself get thrown into an attack because my stomach growled a few times? And I still don't even have closure."

    "Closure on what?" Maka asked.

    "Ragnarok," Crona replied. "I never visited him or even apologized for messing up his one phone call. Maybe I should talk with Marie about it."

    "Do you think that'll even help calm your nerves before Nationals?" Spirit asked, his tone skeptical. Crona shrugged.

    "I don't know," they said. "I don't know whether my brain's still trying to torture me at this point, but I'm starting to believe it's worth a try."

 

    It had been six days since Crona broke down at practice. They had been spending most of their afterschool periods since then in the library focusing on homework that had been piling up, except for Friday. Right after their last class, they said goodbye to Maka and the other members of Spartoi, explained they'd see them at practice again on Monday, and got in the car with Miss Mjolnir on their way to the city penitentiary. This wasn't the same prison as the one Medusa was sent to, she was in a separate women's facility. No, this time, they were only here for closure on Ragnarok.

    "Are you sure you want to do this?" Miss Mjolnir asked, as she and Crona approached the entrance.

    "To tell you the truth, no," Crona replied. "But at least we'll be separated by a thick wall of glass," they said.

 

    The security process to even get to that thick wall of glass was a lengthy ordeal, and the initial sight of the room bleak and unpromising. It was a small room, the only furniture being two uncomfortable-looking chairs facing the window, and a corded phone on its sill. On the other side of the window was another chair, and in it sat Ragnarok, with two guards on either side of him. He didn't look so well, sitting slouched in prison orange.There was a sour expression on his face, and he had his phone's receiver in hand like he had waiting for this day since he was arrested in the first place. Crona and Miss Mjolnir sat in the two chairs on their side of the window, Crona taking the one closer to the phone. They picked up their receiver and held it to their ear, expecting Ragnarok to say the worst. Not like they ever expected anything else, since it would be unusual

otherwise.

    "Well, you're a month late," he said in an unusually calm yet still condescending tone. "Where's the bail money?"

    "I didn't come here to bail you out, only to talk," Crona replied, trying to stay calm despite a bad feeling welling up in their stomach.

    "Talk?" Ragnarok asked, raising his voice. Crona braced themself. "You know damn well you should have brought bail, you stupid little piece of shit!" It didn't feel good to hear that kind of stuff spewed at them again.

    "I'm sorry," Crona said out of reflex. "Actually, no, I'm not. You-"

    "What do you mean, you're not sorry?" Ragnarok asked. "I'm the only family you have left and you leave me to rot! What, do you think I deserve to be in jail?"

    "Not for helping your father sell drugs behind a Costco," Crona replied, feeling tears well up in their eyes. "No, I shouldn't cry," they tried to tell themself. A smug grin spread across Ragnarok's face.

    "Well look how fucking guilty you are, Crona, you're in tears," he said. "It's your fault I'm behind bars, it's your fault what happened to you and the Albarn girl at the party, it's your fault for everything that happened to you this year-"

    A guard asked Ragnarok a question that didn't get picked up by his receiver.

    "No, you sack of human garbage, I didn't do anything to them or the girl at that party, I just helped my dad sell drugs, fuck off!" Ragnarok snapped at him. The guard who asked Ragnarok about the house party incident gave him a suspicious look.

    "I'm not crying because you're in jail," Crona said. "And tell that guard you were behind what happened to Maka and I at that party. I would have let it go by now had you only hurt me, but you shouldn't have brought Maka into it. If you were mad that she believed me about my mother, fine, but she didn't deserve to be sent to the emergency room over it!"

    "What did you even come here to talk about anyway?" Ragnarok asked.

    "I just wanted to see how you were doing," Crona replied.

    "I'm doing _pretty fucking well_ thanks to you," Ragnarok said. "By the way, that was sarcasm." His tone insinuated that he thought Crona was unable to grasp that.

    "I'm also here to say goodbye," Crona added.

    "Say goodbye? I'm the one person who's been there for you since you were two!" Ragnarok shouted.

    "You and I remember our childhood very differently," Crona said, handing Miss Mjolnir the phone. Crona got up from the chair and walked over to one of the walls. They leaned their back against the wall, letting it support them. They buried their face in their hands, tuning out Miss Mjolnir's many choice words to Ragnarok. Coming here was making Crona realize that they had to abandon what used to feel normal to them once and for all. Abandon Medusa Gorgon for Marie Mjolnir. Abandon fear and loneliness for love and friendship. Abandon whatever the heck Ragnarok meant to them with... well, they didn't figure out this one yet. _What did he even mean to me anyway?_ they thought.

    "Marie, I want to go home," Crona said.

 

    And home they soon went. They arrived back at nightfall, Miss Mjolnir promising to make Crona their favorite meal to try to offset what happened at the prison even a little bit. They enjoyed a nice, calm, dinner together, and tried to spend the rest of the evening in peace.

    After Crona came out from a nice, hot bath, they immediately made a beeline for their room, grabbed the one pillow they always grabbed off their bed, and sat down atop the covers, holding it in their arms. Holding the tearstained pillow was almost always comforting to them, this time being no exception. They thought new tears would end up falling onto the case, but none came out. Crona sat there relatively in peace for a minute or two, until they heard a sudden buzzing sound. They jolted a bit, before turning their head to their right. In the pocket of their school uniform's blazer, which was hastily tossed on the bed after they came home, there was a soft glow emitting from their phone. Crona reached out to pick it up, the constant buzzing being an annoying distraction that they'd like to end as soon as possible. But since it was locked, they couldn't hit

"decline", so they might as well have at least checked who was calling. Maka's name and picture showed up on the display, and Crona answered immediately. After what happened a few hours ago, they were glad they'd be able to hear her voice again.

    "Are you back from the penitentiary?" Maka asked.

    "Yeah, it didn't go well," Crona replied. "I thought I'd feel better after getting some closure on that end, but in the end, all the visit did was hurt."

    "Are you okay?" Maka asked.

    "Sort of," Crona said. "He couldn't hit me or anything, but what he said... Ragnarok blamed me for everything, Maka. Everything." Maka gasped.

    "If I were there I would have told him he can go take that remark back and shove it up his-" Maka began, before there was a loud crash on the her end. "Mama, are you okay?" she asked, her voice muffled by presumably covering her phone with her hand. Crona didn't hear anything else from Maka for nearly half a minute as she checked what was going on. "Everything's fine, turns out she's still not home and it was something outside."

    "At least nobody's hurt," Crona said.

    "So how's your break from practice been going?" Maka asked. "I barely got to see you outside of class last week."

    "Nothing much, just catching up on schoolwork and relaxing at home," Crona replied. "I tried to go to Marie's office one afternoon, but turns out she's not officially allowed to counsel me anymore because she's my foster parent. We talked about possibly having me start to see a therapist this summer, and whether or not the breakdown I had last week meant I'm developing some kind of post-traumatic stress."

    "I remember reading somewhere that the odds of developing PTSD from child abuse are really high," Maka said. Crona sighed. They knew this might be a possibility, and a dreaded one at that.

    "Great," they groaned. _Just having anxiety and depression is bad enough, now I could get this? My brain can go to hell._ "I missed you and Spartoi, but it was kind of nice just to take some time off from everything."

    "I missed you too," Maka said. Crona could hear her front door open and close.

    "Maka, get off the phone," Maka's mother said, unaware she was being loud enough for Crona to hear on their end. _What's going on, is she in trouble?_ "We have to talk about Miami."

    "Mama, can't this wait?" Maka asked. "Crona's on the other end and they just went through- hey, don't take it away from-"

    There was a click, signifying Maka's mother had hung up the phone for her unwilling daughter. Crona set the phone down in shock. _What if Ms. Albarn says Maka can't go to Nationals? All that work she's put in for it can't all be for nothing!_ Crona clung on their pillow, hoping it would alleviate some of the worry before they could contact Maka again.

 

    About twenty minutes later, Maka messaged them.

    "Mama was just telling me she couldn't go to support me in person like she wanted to. (exasperated face emoji) Sorry if we worried you. I'll see you soon, love you!"

    Crona texted an "I love you" back and smiled, not realizing how soon "soon" would end up being.

 

    The next day started peacefully in a way that for the last month or so, was becoming Crona's new normal. Miss Mjolnir made French toast for breakfast, and explained they weren't going to go out or do any errands today, that it was just going to be a home day so they could both relax. Crona spent the next few hours curled up on the couch with their pillow, watching the boxed set of nature documentaries Miss Mjolnir received last Christmas. Until the doorbell rang its cheerful chime.

    "I'll get it!" Miss Mjolnir exclaimed, hurrying to the door. Figuring it was just a salesperson or something, Crona kept watching the documentary, now transfixed on the herd's migration. They heard Maka and Tsubaki's voices by the doorway along with Miss Mjolnir, who soon led the two girls into the TV room before going off to make some tea.

    "You really weren't kidding when you said 'soon'," Crona said, watching Maka immediately make herself at home and sit by them on the couch.

    "I thought a surprise visit could be fun," Maka replied, with a huge smile on her face.

    "How are you doing?" Tsubaki asked, sitting down on Crona's other side.

    "Better than I was last night," Crona replied, squeezing their pillow. "I think I'll be fine going to practice on Monday, if that's what you're worried about."

    "I'm not worried about that," Maka said. "I just wanted to see that you're safe."

    "So this wasn't a surprise visit just for the sake of it?" Crona asked. Maka shook her head no. "Thank you, thank you both for caring about me so much," Crona said. Maka threw her arms around Crona, Tsubaki doing the same thing. Crona was surprised for a second at the sudden hug, even though they expected something like this might happen. It was nice to have this kind of attention. The positive, loving attention they've been receiving so much of this year compared to every other year before then was something they never, ever, wanted to take for granted. "Thank you," Crona said again, quieter this time to the point where it was barely louder than a whisper. Maka and Tsubaki kept hugging them until Miss Mjolnir came back with two teacups filled to the brim with steaming hot tea. She set the cups down on the table and went back to fetch the other

two. After setting one of those cups down between the others, Miss Mjolnir sat down in an armchair, holding the last cup of tea for herself.

    "What kind of tea is that?" Tsubaki asked, breaking off from the hug.

    "It's chamomile," Miss Mjolnir replied as Maka broke off. "The package said it was good for relaxation and stress relief. I also put some honey in it."

    Crona looked down at the light golden-colored tea, knowing exactly why Miss Mjolnir picked it out. They set their pillow aside and picked up the teacup, feeling the dull heat on their fingers. They took a sip. It tasted sweet, especially with the honey Miss Mjolnir added. They felt a strange sensation on their tongue.

    "Wait, let it cool just a bit longer!" Miss Mjolnir exclaimed a little bit too late. "I don't want any of you to burn your tongues."

    Crona set their teacup back on the saucer. It didn't feel like they burned themself, just dull. Their pain tolerance was high enough that they wouldn't be able to tell for a bit. Technically, they didn't know what a burnt tongue even felt like, never having had one before.

    "How's school been for you two?" Miss Mjolnir asked Maka and Tsubaki.

    "It's been good," Tsubaki replied, picking up her teacup and blowing on the tea to cool it down a little faster. "My PE grade's improved so far since last semester, which kind of surprises me. Usually winter's kind of a lull for me."

    "I know what you mean," Miss Mjolnir said. "Back when I was a Shibusen student, I had better performance in PE during the fall and spring."

    "You were a student at Shibusen?" Tsubaki asked.

    "Most faculty members are alumni," Miss Mjolnir replied. "The only one I can think of on the current roster that wasn't is the cheerleading coach."

    "Is it strange for so many teachers to have gone to the same school they teach at?" Maka asked. "Why's that?"

    "Nostalgia?" Tsubaki suggested.

    "Probably," Miss Mjolnir replied. "I haven't really asked them."

    "Why did you get a job there?" Crona asked, picking up their teacup again, this time blowing on the tea before they tried to take another sip.

    "It was for nostalgia's sake, actually," Miss Mjolnir replied. "That and to see it what Joe wrote on the bleachers was still there."

    "Mr Buttataki?" Maka asked. "What did he write?" She took a sip of her tea.

    "I can probably tell Tsubaki, but it's not something I'd feel comfortable saying around freshmen," Miss Mjolnir replied, unaware she was fueling Maka's fire. And that fire lit up in her eyes, sparking a curiosity that would not be satisfied until she found out. Crona was admittedly curious as well. Mr. Buttataki never seemed like the type to write something that could possibly be filthy enough for Miss Mjolnir to want to hide it from the eyes and ears of anyone younger than a junior.

    "I don't really want to know," Tsubaki said. Maka nearly snorted tea out of her nose in shock. She set her cup down as she coughed a few times.

    "Maka, are you okay?" Crona frantically asked. Maka nodded and took a deep breath. Her face had turned bright red, likely from embarrassment.

    "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking like she might laugh at herself for reacting like that. And she did laugh a little. _Okay good, she's definitely fine if she can laugh about it this soon._ Maka looked down at her tea to make sure she didn't really snort it out of her nose and possibly get snot in it. She sighed in relief and took another sip, slowly this time. Now that they were sure Maka was fine, Crona took another sip of their own tea. It tasted and felt different this time at the tip of their tongue, but not towards the back.

    "I did burn it," Crona said to themself. They looked at Miss Mjolnir, bracing themself for whatever disappointment she'd throw at them for doing something like that. But it was just a look, a nonverbal "I told you so." Nothing more. Crona sighed in relief, but they were sure the others would interpret it as exasperation.

    "Don't worry, it'll heal on its own if it's not severe," Tsubaki said.

    "It doesn't seem to be that bad, it's only a small bit," Crona replied. "It won't take as long to heal as a broken nose, right?" they asked. Not realizing they were legitimately asking that, the others laughed like Crona just told them a joke. _I guess not._

    "You'll be fine," Maka said. "I've burnt my tongue on hot food and stuff all the time, mostly with pizza. It'll clear up."

    "I'll be fine," Crona repeated to themself. They stared down at the rest of their tea. Their tongue didn't even hurt, it just felt weird. And it wasn't even that noticeable, so they could easily ignore it as they drank the rest. Crona wasn't sure whether the chamomile tea would actually have a calming effect like the box said, but right now they didn't feel like they needed that too much. It was weird, but they felt fine. Whether this was the calm before another storm, or a new normal, they didn't care. How long this calm would last wasn't something they were thinking about now. Crona drank the last sip of their tea and set the now-empty cup back down on its saucer.

    "Are you sure you're holding up okay after the breakdown?" Tsubaki asked them. "And the visit?"

    "Honestly, I've never been sure if I'm okay," Crona replied. "But that's fine. I'm still alive after fifteen years of hell, so there's that."

    "Your recovery from all that's still just in a beginning phase," Miss Mjolnir said. "It's going to be a long and bumpy ride, and it may never fully end, but we all have your back. We'll all be there for you if you need us for as long as it takes. And even after that."

    "I know," Crona replied, glancing over at Tsubaki and Miss Mjolnir, and then turning to look at Maka. Maka took their hand.

    "Every step of the way," Maka said with a genuine and supportive smile.

 

    The first part of the journey was over, and the second part had only just begun. But however long it was going to last, Crona knew Maka and Miss Mjolnir were going to be right by their side, with Tsubaki and the rest of Spartoi close by. It really set in today more than any other that Crona was not alone. Recovery was going to be a long journey, and though they were highly likely to never be fully rid of all the mental scars and issues the trauma they suffered for fifteen years left them, at least they could begin to understand them and deal with them better.

 

    Crona was a survivor, and they were going to keep on fighting.


	29. Chapter 29

    Death City International Airport was as vibrant and bustling as usual. Maka and Spirit arrived first, waiting by a distinctive statue for other members of Spartoi to arrive. This was it, this was the day they were going to Miami for Nationals. The Mortes generously donated their private jet to take the team there, and all that was left was to wait for the rest of them to arrive. Hiro and his parents arrived up the escalator within minutes of the Albarns, with Kidd arriving alone right as Hiro's parents said goodbye to their son. Soul arrived next, alone like Kidd, and the Thompson sisters were not far behind. Kim, Jackie, Ox, Harvar, and Kilik arrived all together, presumably having carpooled. The next to arrive was Crona, with Miss Mjolnir. Miss Mjolnir gave them a long hug goodbye before leaving them with their team. All who were then left were Black☆Star and Tsubaki. They were certainly taking their sweet time, arriving nearly a half hour after Crona.

    "Everyone's here!" Spirit exclaimed, pointing out Black☆Star and Tsubaki's arrival. Maka perked up. Finally, she'd no longer be waiting by the statue, but through airport security. Not much of an improvement.

    "Sorry we're a bit late," Tsubaki said.

    "Don't sweat it," Spirit replied. "Okay, now that everyone's here, before we go through airport security, I know it was an odd request, but I'm pleased to see you all came here in your PE uniforms."

    "Why did you make us to this?" Soul asked.

    "Because there's no metal in them," Spirit replied. "Don't wanna set of the detectors."

    "Papa, you've been on a plane before," Maka said. "You have to know that they don't usually go off for a pair of jeans," she sighed. But Spirit didn't hear her, instead ushering everyone into a single file line. Maka was stuck towards the back between Black☆Star and Spirit, as the team started walking through security. Everyone's bags were checked by officers and sniffed by dogs while they walked to the metal detector. Liz was up first, and passed. Then Patty, then Jackie, then Ox, then Soul, then Crona, then Tsubaki, then Kidd, then Hiro, but he set it off. He screamed.

    "It's probably your earrings," a security officer said. "Why don't you just take those off and go through again?" she asked. Hiro took out the three earrings on his left ear, then the three on his right. He walked through again and seft of the detector. Kim loudly groaned. Black☆Star crossed his fingers.

    "Please be a hot pink bellybutton ring that says 'JUICY', please be a hot pink bellybutton ring that says 'JUICY'," he muttered. It turned out Hiro just had a pin on his shirt he forgot about. The officer groaned, but Hiro was soon passed to the next station. Kim went through next, then Harvar, then Kilik, then Black☆Star, and now it was Maka's turn. Everything metal was in her bag, and she had no piercings or jewelry on, so she went through without setting anything off. She and the others passed through the rest of security without any problems, and made their way to the gate.

 

    The flight lasted nearly five and a half hours, but it didn't feel anywhere near that long thanks to the entertaining antics of the team's (mainly Black☆Star, Kilik, and Patty's) commentary on the in-flight movies they found. Notably _"The Pumaman,"_ which started with a half hour of ridiculous cheesiness and obvious lack of research on everything, before an hour of "oh God, why does it still drag on like this?" drowned out by an unnecessarily heated argument over whether that was the best or worst movie anyone from Spartoi ever saw. This resulted in Black☆Star being barred from picking out the movies for their flight back, something he was still upset over by the time they got to the hotel. But he wasn't the only one upset.

    "What do you mean, there's no rooms left?" Spirit asked the guy at the front desk.

    "I'm sorry, but the hotel's been completely booked by the other forty-nine teams and a convention that's in town," the guy at the front desk replied. "If you reserved your rooms in advance we wouldn't have this problem," he said. Spirit looked over at Maka.

    "Please tell Papa you reserved us rooms," he said.

    "I didn't even know we were supposed to be staying here," Maka replied, as she along with others starting to look up other hotels nearby on their phones. _Too far, too booked, Papa's been banned from that chain since he was in college..._ "Are you guys opposed to a motel?" Maka asked, looking at a sign across the street.

 

    Maka didn't know whether her father was just cranky from the flight and time zone and everything, or whether he genuinely wanted to stay in a motel for Nationals, but an apprehensive and annoyed Spartoi was shuffled across the street with their luggage to the motel. There was a neon sign with the motel's sign and "VACANCY", as well as a sign underneath reading "FREE ICE, FREE WIFI." The motel itself was nothing special, just two floors with seven rooms each and a pool out front. Spirit talked with the owner, and was able to secure the entire top floor.

    "So we're basically roughing it out here," Soul groaned. "Delightful."

    "Come on, it's just like a penthouse suite," Spirit said, taking out fourteen straws, presumably with hidden marks. "Draw to get your roommate, no switchbacks." Maka was first to draw, and her straw had a light blue mark, similar to Black☆Star's hair color. She couldn't see who had the matching mark, as everyone started drawing and chatting amongst each other to find their partnerships. Kilik ran over to Maka. She wondered if he had the other light blue straw. Among the boys, he was one of the most favorable choices to end up with.

    "You have the light blue, right?" Kilik asked, holding a straw marked with indigo. Maka nodded. "Great," Kilik said, swapping their straws. "Black☆Star has the other one," he explained, walking off with a giddy expression. Maka decided she'd only report the switch if she ended up with Ox or Hiro. She scanned the crowd, weighing in on the others. She saw Liz and Jackie were paired up, and so were Kidd and Hiro. Ox gasped and ran up to Kim, who immediately walked back to Spirit for a partner switch.

    "Indigo, who has indigo?" Maka called out, acting like yes, she definitely did have indigo the entire time.

    "I have it," Crona said, almost seeming surprised as they approached her. Maka did not feel guilty about the switch in the slightest, especially when seeing their smile. Black☆Star and Kilik gave her and Crona a thumbs-up, and Maka reciprocated the gesture. Crona just waved until they saw Maka's hand. "Ah, um..." they said, quickly changing their wave to a thumbs-up. Black☆Star laughed, and walked up the stairway with Kilik.

    "Hey, Mr. Albarn!" Kilik called out. "Who gets what room?"

    "Red gets 201," Spirit began, passing a key to Liz, "Orange gets 202." He passed a key to Kim, who was now with Soul. "Yellow gets 203." The next key went to Hiro. "Green gets 204." Ox and Harvar got a key. "Blue gets 205." He tossed a key to Black☆Star. "Indigo gets 206." Maka took her key and started to walk up the stairs to her room. "And purple gets 207," Spirit said, handing the last key to Tsubaki and Patty.

    Maka unlocked the door to her room as she heard Crona head up the stairs. She opened the door to reveal a small room with two beds, an old TV atop a dresser, a rug, and a door in the back that only led to a small bathroom with only a toilet, sink, and a shower with a vinyl curtain. Maka didn't expect a motel room to be fancy at all, so she didn't get her hopes up. She turned around to see Crona coming in and shutting the door, an advertisement for a local pizza place in their hand.

    "I can't believe we have a motel room all to ourselves," Crona said, setting the pizza ad on the dresser. But any sense of that was lost to Black☆Star complaining about the lack of TV channels through the paper-thin walls.

    "I know, it's really exciting!" Maka said, setting her luggage down on the bed and beginning to unpack. A change of casual clothes, her Nationals costume, sleepwear, a swimsuit, as well as underwear, socks and other necessities were all sorted out and either put into a drawer or set on the bathroom counter.

    "Okay, now that we have everything set up, since we only have one night here, we should make..." Maka began, before she heard a knock at the door. "...the most of it," she sighed, walking up to the door and answering it to find Spirit with his bag in hand.

    "Maka, I just realized I didn't give myself a room," he said, sounding overly hammy like he had rehearsed this. Maka was about to bluntly refuse him, but he walked in, setting his luggage on the other bed and beginning to unpack. "So I thought I'd stay here with my precious daughter and her datemate to make sure they didn't get up to anything inappropriate alone in a motel room together."

    "You pervert!" Maka snapped. Spirit looked crushed that his daughter had just called him that, but Maka gave him no sympathy. _Why would he think those kind of thoughts about his daughter?_

    "I'm not a pervert, just a father who doesn't want his daughter to, um... you know," Spirit said. Maka glared at him.

    "I was about to see if they wanted to go to the pool with me before you came in," she replied, pointing to her swimsuit, which was laid out on her bed. "Now get out so we can change," she added, shoving Spirit out the door and locking it.

 

    There were already a few of their teammates down by the pool when Maka and Crona came out, and it soon became more populated to the point where all of Spartoi was either in it or poolside, enjoying one last fun afternoon together before tomorrow's competition. Until it got dark a lot quicker than they all thought. The motel owner then yelled that the pool was only open until dusk and everyone had to get out. The disgruntled Spartoi members all returned to their rooms. Maka got out a fresh T-shirt and shorts from her drawer, wanting to just take a shower and get that pool smell off her. She went into the bathroom and closed the door. Right as she was done with her shower, she heard a knock at their room's main door. _Perfect timing,_ she thought, quickly drying herself off and putting her fresh clothes on. _Crona must've ordered us a pizza or something._

Maka opened the door to find her father sitting on a towel in front of the TV next to Crona, the two watching network television.

    "He'd been standing out there sopping wet from the pool," Crona said. "I just had to let him in." Maka frowned, not at Crona, but at Spirit. _I guess he's thinking this is his motel room now._

    "I ordered us pizza," Spirit said, holding up the pizza ad to try and bargain with Maka.

    "You're lucky I'm hungry," she replied, sitting down in front of the TV.

    "While we're waiting, I'm going to go ahead and take a shower," Crona said, taking an oversized nightshirt from their bag and walking into the bathroom. Maka sat alone for a minute, watching the TV. She wasn't really too keen on the program, and started flipping channels. Barely even five minutes after that, Crona soon came back out. They finished drying their hair with the towel and sat down next to Maka, close enough for their shoulders to touch. Maka smiled, reaching out to hold their hand.

    "Did I miss anything?" Crona asked, looking at the TV.

    "No, I've just been flipping channels," Maka replied. "You'd think there'd be something good on since it's primetime," she sighed, leaving it on an obviously local cooking show where a little old lady was showing the viewers how to make deep fried pickles.

    "Pizza'll be here in a few," Spirit said, inching uncomfortably close to Maka to make things awkward on purpose. And succeeding in doing just that. _It seems like he's only here to intrude,_ Maka thought, trying to push Spirit away with her foot. "I get it, you don't want your Papa embarrassing you in front of your datemate," Spirit said, moving just out of range of Maka's foot. "I promise, I won't bug you two too much." Maka wondered whether or not she should test his limits, but she decided against it, instead watching the little old lady in the cooking show battering and breading pickle chips until someone knocked on their door. Spirit went to go get it, and there stood a pizza delivery boy with several pizzas. _I guess we weren't the only ones who ordered some._

 

    After the three of them finished up with the pizza, Spirit decided to go take a shower, leaving Maka and Crona alone together like they originally thought they would be. Maka knew Spirit normally took long showers, so she and Crona had a while to themselves. Maka snuggled up with Crona in the cramped space between the beds, holding on to them in a warm embrace. They wrapped their arms around her as well, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Maka couldn't help but smile. Well, she already was before, but this only made her smile brighter. She gave Crona a little kiss on the cheek in return. And then a second one, before she rested her head on their shoulder, glancing only her eyes upwards to see the expression on their face. Due to her bangs getting in the way, Maka couldn't completely know, but from what she could see, they were obviously happy. Crona brushed Maka's bangs aside with their right hand, trailing it down to caress her face.

    "I'm glad we could at least get a little time like this," they said.

    "Me too," Maka replied. Crona leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Maka reached a hand up to touch their face, letting it linger for a second as she gazed into their beautiful eyes. She thought she could just kiss them right now, on the lips this time. Maka closed her eyes and leaned in so her face was barely an inch from theirs, not noticing the sound of the shower die down as she waited to see if they would close the gap. The brief seconds of silent anticipation felt like too many, until she felt Crona's soft lips against hers. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds until Maka and Crona heard the click of the bathroom door open. They both opened their eyes in shock and turned to look at the bathroom doorway. There Spirit stood, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist and a confused expression on his face.

    "Why'd you two turn your heads so quickly?" he asked, walking over to his bag and getting out an old band T-shirt and some pajama pants. He froze up for a second, just realizing what he walked in on and would have seen had his view not been obstructed by one of the beds. Not saying another word, he walked back into the bathroom to put his pajamas on.

    "Um..." Maka said, getting up on one of the beds.

    "I think he knew, acting casual won't help," Crona replied.

    "What were you guys doing in there?" Black☆Star yelled through the wall.

    "Black☆Star!" Kilik and Tsubaki both shouted from their respective rooms.

    "Don't worry, it was nothing embarrassing!" Maka said, right as Spirit walked back out.

    "It's getting kind of late," he said, looking at the clock on the wall. "I know you probably aren't that tired, but we have to operate on Miami time tomorrow." _So he's trying to play the role of strict coach._ "The only problem is that there's three of us and only two beds."

    "So leave," Maka replied.

    "No, if I leave, I won't have a room at all," Spirit said. "Maka, you've gotten too old to share a bed with your Papa without it being weird, and as your father I don't want you to share a bed with Crona since you two are dating. And I'm definitely not going to share a bed with them because I'm a _grown adult_ and they're a _minor_ who isn't family."

    "So the solution is you're gonna have to get off your high horse," Maka replied. "I've shared a bed with Crona both nights we were away for State, and also on Valentine's. It's no big deal." Spirit loudly gasped.

    "You guys already did this three times?" he asked. They both nodded.

    "If you're still going to forbid it, I'm okay with sleeping on the rug," Crona said, taking their pillow out from their bag and setting it on the rug. Maka sat there, amazed by what she thought was their persuasion tactic. She was sure it was going to work. Spirit wouldn't want to see any of the kids feel like they were forced to sleep on just a cheap, scratchy rug all night. And they didn't even grab something to use as a blanket, which would definitely give their tactic an edge.

    "Are you sure you want to sleep on the rug?" Spirit asked.

    "It's fine," Crona replied.

    "It's not fine. Maka, come over here with me so Crona doesn't have to sleep on the floor," Spirit said. _Crap, this wasn't the solution I was hoping for._

    "You said it yourself, I'm too old for it to not be weird," Maka replied. Spirit groaned. Crona cautiously walked over to Maka's bed, hoping Spirit wouldn't protest. Hearing nothing from him, Maka let them in. (She would have done it anyway once he fell asleep) Crona set their pillow down next to Maka's and curled up next to her. "Goodnight," Maka whispered to them.

    "Goodnight," Crona whispered back, holding her hand. Maka gave them a soft smile.

    "Goodnight, you two," Spirit said, significantly louder than the both of them.

 

    Morning came too early. Maka awoke while it was still dark out, the clock reading just past four in the morning. Spirit began to stir a bit, looked at the clock, grumbled something about time zones, and laid back down. Maka figured she'd try to do the same, looking down at Crona, who was still in deep sleep. She laid back down and closed her eyes, hoping to fall back asleep for the next few hours. She laid awake for half an hour before finally fooling herself into falling asleep. Until a hand pushed at her shoulder. Wondering how long it had been, she slowly rose, a beam of sunlight catching her eye. She sat halfway up with squinted eyes, turning her head to see Crona lying on their back, wide awake.

    "Good morning," Maka yawned, pushing a bit of their unruly bedhead out their eyes.

    "Good morning," Crona replied, sitting up and looking at the clock. "It's been forty-five minutes since sunrise?" they asked themself before letting out a small groan. Spirit's phone alarm went off, and he sprung up, startled by the noise.

    "Okay, Spirit, time to wake up Maka and... they're both already up," he said. _We'd still have gotten up because of your alarm._ "What happened to your hair? It looks like someone got you with a leafblower."

    "My hair?" Crona asked. "Sometimes I just wake up like this."

    "I see," Spirit replied. "Well, I gotta get myself up the rest of the way and check on the rest of the team," he said, slowly getting himself out of bed. "Make sure you two get dressed, we're going out to a pancake house a few blocks down for breakfast."

 

    After a delicious pancake breakfast with everyone, Spartoi spent the rest of the morning in the motel yard doing some last-minute practice for their routines. Everyone came out of the practice confident Nationals was going to be flawless. They all ordered another round of pizzas for lunch before going back to their rooms to get their stuff ready. Maka took out her dress, still in its costume bag, and made sure Crona had theirs ready before the two of them met up with the others outside.

    "There's a shuttle guy at the hotel across the street talking with an employee," Patty said. "They said all the teams from the hotel had already boarded their shuttles and this one's not gonna be filled. Wonder why they have an extra."

    "Patty, that's our shuttle," Harvar replied.

    "Everybody run, the driver's getting back in!" Spirit exclaimed. He, Black☆Star, Patty, and Hiro ran off across the street without even looking both ways.

    "Papa, watch for traff-" Maka started, before hearing a loud _thwack_."...ooh, that's gotta hurt." Spirit had ran into the side of the shuttle. At top speed. Patty was laughing. Tsubaki walked over to the free ice, took a cold pack (she stashed it in there earlier) out, and rushed to Spirit's aid. The worst he had was a bloody nose, and he had bit his tongue. After plugging his nose up with tissue, the team managed to get on the shuttle and head off on their way to Nationals.

 

    The team made their way to their dressing room, which was a medium-sized white room with two double-sided rows of makeup vanities in the center and two of its corners curtained off for privacy. Liz, Kim, and Jackie began setting out everyone's makeup kits on the vanities, while Patty and Black☆Star were first to enter the changing corners. Maka started the line behind Patty's corner, Tsubaki and Crona soon joining her. Soul and Kidd created the line on the other side, other boys soon joining them. Spirit knocked on the door, and after an affirmation from Liz that nobody was changing out in the open, he walked in holding a sheet of paper.

    "Okay, so we're performing seventh," Spirit announced. "Out of fifty."

    "Are you sure we're seventh?" Kidd asked.

    "Yeah," Spirit replied, looking over the schedule again. "Since we're in an odd spot so early on, I want you guys to perform harder than ever before to make an even stronger impact than ever before." _Easy for you to say,_ Maka thought, taking her dress out of her bag and laying it over her forearm. Patty came out from behind the curtain, and made her way to the one of the vanities with a hop, skip, and jump. Maka walked back behind the curtain and pulled it shut. She quickly changed from her T-shirt and jean shorts to her Nationals costume, a brilliantly white sleeveless dress with a blue layered skirt and a silver sun brooch. She tied on a matching silver choker and left the curtain to approach the makeup vanity next to Patty. Maka sat down in  the chair and tied her hair into her usual pigtails, adding blue ribbons to match the skirt.

    "Hey, nice touch," Patty said, pausing from doing her makeup for a second.

    "Thanks," Maka replied, opening her palette and beginning to apply her foundation. Midway through her stage makeup, Crona sat down at the vanity next to hers. The harsh lighting and white clothes emphasised the cold undertones in their pale skin, making them almost look sickly. _No, they're fine,_ Maka thought. _If they were actually sick, they would have said something about it earlier._

    "Okay, I think I can do it this time," Crona said to themself, opening up their palette and trying their hardest to do their own stage makeup. Maka gave them a look of silent encouragement before finishing up her own. Soul came around to their vanities, wearing a white suit with an electric blue bowtie.

    "Sure am glad I won't have to cake on any more of that stuff until next year," he said. Maka eyed the results of her makeup in the mirror and was pleasantly relieved that it came out well.

    "Yeah, that's one thing I'm not gonna miss," Crona replied, sighing. "Does it look okay?"

    "It looks great!" Maka exclaimed. There was a loud buzz coming from an intercom nobody noticed until now, accompanied by one of Crona's bloodcurdling screams, and a yelp from Liz and Kidd.

    "Everybody calm down, it's just an intercom!" Spirit exclaimed, with widened eyes and a hand clutching his chest. "God, that scream was worse than the ones in horror movies."

    "Hey, career option!" Patty said, pointing to Crona.

    "But acting involves wearing a lot of makeup, and I don't think I can deal with doing that every day," Crona replied, as an announcement came over the intercom.

    "Good evening, everyone!" the announcer said. "Welcome to the 2016 National High School Show Choir Championship! Our gracious judges are State Senator Mabaa, the renowned genius Eibon, and Tezca Tlipoca, a comedian. Our first act, the Euphoric Songbirds of William Henry Harrison College Prep School in Albany, New York, will be on in about two minutes."

    "The Euphoric Songbirds?" Hiro asked in disbelief. "No wonder they'd be here again."

    "What's so important about them?" Black☆Star asked.

    "Last year... last year, they won it all," Hiro replied. "Shibusen placed in second, if it weren't for them, we could have won on the last year all but one of our members were still in high school. It's because of them I wanted to rebuild Tone Death. This year, Spartoi has to uphold their legacy. We _have to win_."

 

     Spartoi was called to head backstage by a stagehand right after the Euphoric Songbirds' performance ended. They had barely finished all their costuming and makeup before Spirit brought them into a huddle for one last pep talk.

    "This is it," he said. "Nationals. The biggest competition of the year. We're incredibly fortunate to even be here, hell I'm almost surprised that in less than a year, you guys turned from a bunch of misfits into a team among the best of the best _in the country_..."

    "Don't jinx it," Kim warned him.

    "I'm not, I'm trying not to, it's just... I'm so amazed, and proud, and a lot of emotions are going through me right now," Spirit replied, tearing up. "We made it. Only fifty teams a year even have a chance to do this, and we're one of them. So we have to show them we deserve to be here. That we're just as amazing as we were just to get here, hell, we have to be at least fifty times as amazing as that and win. And we will. You wanna know why? Because we're us. We made it through a great unknown to get here, against odds slim to none. And our journey's still not over. We have to show that state senator, that genius, and that comedian what we're made of, and we will do it. We will blow their minds to create enough of an impact to eclipse the forty-three after us and win it all for Spartoi and Shibusen Academy!"

    "Yeah!" the team shouted.

    "Now let's get ourselves up to the stage and show them what we're made of!"

  

    They stood in a line on the stairs between other teams for about twenty-five minutes before they even made it to the wings. Maka couldn't speak for anyone else, but she was the most nervous she had ever been in months. Her hands were trembling as she heard the echos of another team's performance. Even though she was surrounded by her teammates, no, her friends, she couldn't help but feel an odd sensation like reality was not longer what it seemed. Was it because Spirit was still teary and trembling with emotion? Was it because everybody was eerily silent unlike at State? Whatever it was, Maka felt dread well up in her stomach. She looked

down to her right and up to her left; most she saw were similarly nervous. Save for one, Crona, who was just leaning on the railing, looking incredibly and unusually calm. _Why did they look the calmest out of everyone?_

    "Are you doing okay?" Maka asked. "I'm pretty nervous."

    "So am I," Crona replied.

    "But you look so calm," Maka said. Crona turned to look her in the eye, their own eyes displaying a weary look, the same one they had way back when they were watching the preliminary auditions. _They're not doing okay._

    "I look...calm?" Crona asked, looking back down at their dangling hands. The line started to move up, Spartoi finally entering the wings. Another team took the stage, dressed all in green. Maka felt Crona's hand grasp her own. She felt the fluttering sensation in her stomach intensify. She took a deep breath, as Kim, Jackie, Hiro, Kidd, and Black☆Star made their way as close to the front of the wings as they were allowed.

    "And now, The Scene, from Central Square High School in Omaha, Nebraska!" the announcer said. The four and a half minutes their performance lasted were absolutely breathtaking. _This is what it truly means to be on a national stage. We're dead._


	30. Chapter 30

    "Maka, are you ready?" Soul asked, handing her and Crona their headsets.

    "Hell no," Maka replied. Kim, Jackie, Hiro, Kidd, and Black☆Star stepped out to the stage and got in their opening formation. The rest of Spartoi stood towards the back, facing away from the audience. Maka's heart was racing.

    "And now, Spartoi, of Shibusen Academy in Death City, Nevada!" the announcer said. Maka took a deep breath. The lights came on, and the beginning instrumental for "Footloose" began to play. Kim's group sang the first part of the first verse, before fanning out into a row with enough space for Liz, Patty, Ox, and Harvar to weave between them for the second half of the verse. The four of them came forward and did their part, before all who were facing the audience spread off to the sides. Tsubaki turned around to face the audience, then Kilik, then Maka, then Soul, then Crona. Maka led her group with the bridge, before everyone came back in to do the chorus. The second verse wasn't done in groups, each line done as a solo part. Maka had the line "you're burnin', yearnin' for some...", right before Liz picked up the next one. By this point, Maka's nerves were replaced by the same euphoria she felt during her performance at State. Fear turned to confidence as she danced. Maybe this wasn't going to blow. Maybe Spartoi would win. Maka's hopes got higher and higher as "Footloose" continued. Everything seemed to have fallen into place. There was nothing stopping them now. "Footloose" ended and the team struck a pose for a few brief moments until Soul began playing "Defying Gravity" on piano. Seven members of Spartoi were each assigned to one half of the duet. Maka, Soul, Black☆Star, Tsubaki, Kidd, Liz, and Patty for one half; Crona, Ox, Harvar, Kim, Jackie, Kilik, and Hiro for the other. Both groups harmonized excellently amongst themselves, and worked well with each other. Maka's group did the part of the good witch, while Crona's group did the more demanding part of the evil one. Their group had far more time in the song, and choreography with more stage presence. Their impact was strong, their power was strong, their harmony was strong. For almost the whole number, everything went just how they rehearsed.

 

    Then nearly everyone stepped out to the side, leaving only Crona at center stage for the final line. All seemed like it was going to end flawlessly, just as they had practiced so many times these past few months. Until Crona's voice choked up right at the end.

 

    There was still applause ringing out for Spartoi as the lights went down and everyone got offstage. Maka heard the announcer announce the next team as Spirit led her and the others back down to their dressing room. The overall tone of Spartoi was mostly enthusiastic, adrenaline from performing not yet having worn off. Despite her nerves before, Maka felt pretty good about their chances.

    "That was fantastic, everyone!" Spirit exclaimed, shutting the door behind him.

    "Yeah it was!" Black☆Star yelled.

    "No it wasn't," Crona muttered to themself, unaware that Maka had picked it up. Their lower lip was trembling, and their hands shaking.

    "Is everything okay?" Maka asked. Crona shook their head no.

    "I messed up at the end," they said. "My voice... my voice just... did that. I was fine doing the line at practice, but so many people watching, being alone in center stage, I just kind of froze up at the worst possible time and I've ruined everything."

    "That's not true, maybe everyone else'll be a trainwreck and we can still make the top three," Patty replied. "And there's always next year."

    "Not for Liz," Crona corrected her with.

    "Hey, I don't particularly care how we place as long as it isn't last," Liz said. "I joined because Patty and Tsubaki said it would be fun, and it has been. I really regret losing for prom queen more than what outcome Nationals will end up being. And if you're worried about Hiro's legacy thing, he's got two more chances."

    "Oh, no, I'm not worried about him," Crona said. Their tone was more in a way for the statement being aimed at reassuring Liz than anything. Hiro did not say anything in return at first, he just kept on with his sulking in one of the vanity chairs.

    "None of you found Tone Death important," Hiro grumbled.

    "I feel awful because I've betrayed the rest of you guys after all you've done for me," Crona said, curling up in the cramped little chair.

    "Crona, it's fine, your voice choking up like that was an accident," Maka replied. "You still did your best, but there's nothing we can do now except wait," she said.

 

    And wait they all did, for nearly three hours. Until an employee entered the room and asked for Spirit and the club president to come with her. Hiro looked crushed.

    "If we're gonna go up on stage, we have to have the whole team!" Black☆Star exclaimed. The employee shook her head.

    "That's only for those who placed in the top three," she replied. "Now which one of you is the club president?"

    "I am," Hiro said, getting up from his chair. He, Spirit, and the employee then left the room, leaving everyone else in dismay. _Best case scenario, we'd only place fourth. Worst case, fiftieth. Last,_ Maka thought, crossing her fingers in hopes their chance would be closer to the former.

    "I can't believe this!" Black☆Star screamed in frustration. "We better still be in the top ten or I'm gonna lose it," he said, walking back to one of the vanity chairs and getting out some makeup removal wipes. "I don't want this crap on my face anymore," he grumbled.

    "Me too," Crona added, starting to get the stage makeup off their own face. Maka looked around the room. Kilik was taking out his stage contacts and putting his glasses back on, Liz was pulling off false eyelashes, Kidd was rubbing off eyeliner. Everyone was finally taking off their stage makeup. And the way they were doing it added another layer of gloomy melancholy to the stark white dressing room. It was not just a post-performance step like before, everyone almost looked defeated. Defeated before they even knew where they were placed. Maka hated this feeling, it was sickening. But she too was sick of her stage makeup and began to remove it. Looking at her natural face in the mirror did not change how she felt about the snap judgements going on. Looking at the faces of her teammates did not change how she felt. _There's nothing we can do except wait. God, I hope everyone doesn't go back and change into their casual clothes just yet._ But at the same time, she wanted to get the verdict and get out of here as quickly as possible.

    "I just want to say I'm sorry if we end up placing really low due to my mistake," Crona said.

    "That's okay, you did your best," Tsubaki replied. Maka felt her heart sink again. They're still beating themself up about it after a few hours. _The slipup was half a second, and they're still feeling the kind of guilt that eats a person alive._

    "We're gonna make it, I promise!" Maka exclaimed, throwing her arms around Crona.

    "Um, yeah..." Crona replied, their voice still full of doubt and disbelief as they returned Maka's affection.

 

    Spirit and Hiro returned a few minutes later carrying a moderately-sized trophy. It wasn't fancy enough for fourth or even fifth place, but it definitely was not a cheap plastic consolation trophy. A ray of hope struck Maka's heart.

    "We placed eighth!" Spirit exclaimed, his expression dripping with pride.

    "That's incredible!" Kidd replied.

    "Hell yeah, top ten!" Kim said.

    "Oh thank God, I thought we'd be lower," Soul added.

    "I'm so glad we made it this far," Maka said, walking up to the trophy. Spirit handed it to her, and she saw in its shiny golden exterior a reflection of a team that did not quite make it to first, but still triumphed. She held it up in the air for everyone to see. Eighth place was definitely enough for the team to celebrate.

 

    "I just want to look at them one more time before I have to head to the auditorium," Liz said, eyeing Spartoi's trophies in the choir room's case. First in the preliminaries, first in the state, eighth in the nation. An incredible accomplishment for a team where none of its members had more than two years' experience. Two weeks had passed since Nationals, and it was graduation day for Liz and her year. She looked back to the piano, with Patty sitting on its lid, Soul, Maka, and Crona crammed on the bench, and Tsubaki, Black☆Star and Kidd standing right by its side. Liz looked like she was going to tear up, with Patty, Kidd, and Tsubaki also struggling not to cry.

    "Come on, guys," Liz said, the tears welling in her eyes, "we have to at least hold out until the ceremony." Tsubaki immediately ran up and hugged her, Patty getting off the piano and joining in.

    "Today really is the day," Maka muttered to herself. "Liz really is graduating." Soul and Crona held on to both of her hands.

    "Hey, Liz, you're still gonna remember us after you go off to college, right?" Black☆Star asked.

    "Of course I will," Liz replied. "It's funny, I spent pretty much my entire senior year hanging out with underclassmen, and now I have to leave them. You guys are still gonna remember me for the next year, two years, three years?"

    "Liz..." Maka said. "there's no way we'll forget."

    Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty broke off from their hug, Liz wiping off a few tears.

    "This was one hell of a year," she said. "But I wouldn't trade what we accomplished for anything in the world."

    Maka's immediate thought was not the trophies, but of those around her. Her teammates, her friends, the person she loved. She squeezed on tighter to Soul and Crona's hands. It was meant to be a loving gesture, but Soul flinched, so Maka relaxed her grip.

    "I thought you weren't going to start taking those courses until summer," Soul said.

    "You're taking summer courses?" Liz asked in disbelief. "But Maka, you're so smart, you can't have failed your classes."

    "No, it's nothing like that," Maka replied. "It's self defense courses at the community center."

    "Ah," Liz said. "I still have to sift through all my acceptance letters and finally decide which college out of those I'm definitely going to."

    "You only have five," Patty replied. Liz sighed.

    "Yeah, but they're all really good schools," she argued. "I know Death City U was my first choice, but I'm still kind of on the fence between it and this one really good out-of-state college. Anyway, what are the rest of your summer plans?" Liz asked. Maka assumed Liz was trying to take her mind off of graduation and her own future, since it was obviously worrying and saddening her.

    "I'm taking a summer course here for World History," Black☆Star said. "Because I got an F-minus instead of my usual D's."

    "At least you're not being sent to a month-long music camp in another state like I am," Soul added.

    "You're going to summer camp too?" Patty asked. "I don't think we're going to the same one, since I'll be going to art camp with Kidd. Tsubaki, are you going to any kind of summer camp?"

    "No, I was thinking of getting a summer job somewhere, or volunteering," Tsubaki replied. She then opened her mouth like she was about to say something else, but was interrupted before she could get the words out.

    "Crona, I know you wanted to be in the poetry club, are you thinking of going to a poetry camp?" Soul asked, not noticing Tsubaki.

    "I've actually started therapy," Crona replied. "So I don't think I'd really have time to go to a poetry camp."

    "That's great!" Maka exclaimed. "Starting therapy, not the lack of time for poetry camp."

    "It doesn't really bother me," Crona replied. "I was actually going to sign up for the poetry club here next fall if it's open," they said, before noticing the look on Tsubaki's face. "Tsubaki, were you about to say something?"

    "I was," Tsubaki said, looking over to Liz. "I saw the look on your face, are you worried about graduating?"

    Liz's eyes widened for about half a second. She froze up for a second, before relaxing her shoulders with a deep sigh.

    "Not about the ceremony itself," Liz began, "I'm completely okay with doing that, all I have to do is wait for Principal Morte to call my name and then I shake his hand and get my diploma. Easy as that. As for what's gonna lie ahead, yeah, that's the scary part," she said. "I was definitely able to take high school, but a part of me still feels really nervous about adulthood."

    "Same," Maka replied.

    "Oh come on, you're a freshman," Liz said. "This year's gonna be nothing compared to what's ahead. You've got plenty of time to keep being a kid, embrace it because you'll never get it back."

    "Any other advice, oh wise senior?" Soul asked.

    "Are you mocking me?" Liz asked in return. "Such slander on the day I graduate," she added in a humoring tone. Though her tone was joking, all the others looked at her with eager eyes, hoping she had some tidbits from her experiences to advise them with. "All right, I guess I have some advice to give."

    "Yeah, Sis, bestow upon us your wisdom!" Patty exclaimed.

    "Oh, all right," Liz replied, glancing aside for a second before looking back at her underclassmen.

 

    "Tsubaki, depending on which college I end up choosing, it might be a bit rough for us for a bit. I still want to stay your girlfriend, and I know we'll be able to make it if we have to be one of those long-distance couples, so no worries about that. But be careful next year, I don't want senior year to kick your ass. And no matter where I am, I promise I'll help you weather through it."

    "I'll be careful," Tsubaki said. "You don't have to worry about senior year 'kicking my ass'."

    "I know," Liz replied. "Black☆Star, please focus on improving your grades, I saw last semester's report card one night when I came over. You're already a brightly shining star, you don't need to fail because if you do, you'll burn out."

    "Ugh, you sound like Mom," Black☆Star groaned. Liz laughed, before turning to look at her sister.

    "This goes for you too, Patty," she said. "I'd hate for my little sis to fail, especially since school's only gonna get harder from here. Plus, you need to keep up your grades for the cheer scholarship, which is the only thing keeping you here."

    "That's it?" Patty asked.

    "I already talked to you at home last night, what more do you want?" Liz asked in return. Patty giggled a bit. "Patty, what am I ever going to do with you?"

    Liz hugged Patty one more time, before glancing at the clock for a second. She turned to look at the four freshmen. Maka could tell Liz looked like she was going to tear up again. Liz grabbed Tsubaki's hand, squeezing it tight.

 

    "I remember when I was a freshman like you guys," Liz began, "sitting in the gym as a senior from cheer gave us advice when she graduated. She told me it wasn't high school itself, but the people you were there with that truly makes your experience what it is. And as long as Spartoi stays together, I'm sure the rest of your experience is gonna be a great one. And as for whether or not I'm worried about you guys in those next three years, well, of course I am. But I know you can make it, you two especially," she said, looking more towards Maka and Crona. "You four and Kilik are five of the toughest freshmen I ever got to meet in all four years I was at Shibusen. Stay tough and you'll make it through just fine."

 

     "Attention all graduating seniors and their families, the graduation ceremony will begin in half an hour," Principal Morte's voice echoed over the intercom saying. "Seniors, please make your way backstage to get ready. Families and friends, head on over to the auditorium to get your seats!"

    "And that's my cue," Liz said, giving Tsubaki a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" she exclaimed, leaving the choir room for the last time as a student. _Stay tough,_ Maka thought as the echo of Liz's footsteps down the hall slowly ceased from her earshot. Maka looked around the room at everyone else, a warm feeling building in her heart. _And I'll make it through just fine._

 

~end

  



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